padlock

When we arrive he stops at a weathered wooden fence, uses a saw-toothed key to open a padlock, and swings open the gate before pulling into a nearly empty parking lot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

"They say education is the key, but honestly speaking we never find the padlock open," Daniel told AFP.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

During a robust series of exchanges, the witness rejected a suggestion by the family lawyer that the department "hadn't a clue" whether there was a padlock in place.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

Not necessarily a designer one, but a handbag with a strong sense of itself — an acid-green baguette bag, a wicker orb with a padlock, a cheetah-print apothecary satchel.

From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025

The door of the shed was shut, and there was a padlock.

From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill

Inspired by a trend in Paris, couples attached metal padlocks and threw the keys into the East River.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

Sensing my interest in the cluster of irregular towers, he stood up, produced a large key ring and began opening a series of padlocks.

From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2024

When they arrived 30 minutes later, they were unable to close the flood gate as the force of water was too strong to stand up in and padlocks were submerged.

From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2023

The utility informed authorities the padlocks were cut and the high side breakers turned off.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 4, 2023

She took Baby’s hand and led the way past the roadside hawkers who sat under umbrellas with batteries and padlocks and cigarettes carefully arranged on enamel trays.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Sindorf left in May 2024 but padlocked the unit behind him, preventing Vivos from taking possession.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

But residents can no longer view the bright autumn colours of the tree of life, a symbol often painted by Behzad, as the wooden door has been padlocked shut.

From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026

The court heard it was covered over with grilles but it is not padlocked shut.

From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2026

In March, the clinic doors had been padlocked for two weeks when she developed vomiting and diarrhea.

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025

So even though he padlocked that door a few years ago, we managed to find a way to unlock it and escape out onto the clouds.

From "Pride" by Ibi Zoboi

Instead of abruptly padlocking our door, as most restaurants do, we’d give everyone four months’ notice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

She’s laid off half the staff and joked about padlocking the door.

From Salon ● Oct. 9, 2025

And a law that was passed primarily with climate protesters in its sights, who have taken to gluing themselves to roads and padlocking themselves to this, that and the other.

From BBC ● May 9, 2023

“It would be a terrible shame if someone were to buy it and then start padlocking it. They’ve done so much work to it, it’s quite amazing,” Bell & Co.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 27, 2022

But most of the stores were closed and the owners had pulled the metal gates down over the front windows and doors, padlocking them shut.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez