unbolt

unbolted; unbolting; unbolts

When you unbolt something, you unfasten its lock. Unbolt the gate so I can put my bike away!

When you open the particular type of lock called a bolt, you unbolt it. Turn a key or latch in your front door to slide the bolt closed, and you bolt the door. Slide it open, and you unbolt it. This verb comes from the prefix un- ("reversal") and bolt, a word that's been used to mean "part of a lock which springs out" since around 1400.

Definitions of unbolt
  1. verb
    undo the bolt of
    “unbolt the door”
    see moresee less
    Antonyms:
    bolt
    secure or lock with a bolt
    type of:
    open, open up
    cause to open or to become open
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