Unlock Left the Door and Entered the Boardroom
To unlock is to open a lock. The figurative sense of releasing hidden value has become one of the most overused words in business writing.
To unlock is to release a lock so something can be opened. The metaphor has escaped: business and technology writing now unlocks value, potential, insight, growth and synergies, to the point where the word has been listed among the most tired in corporate English. The literal sense is still doing perfectly good work.
- To open a lock. *Unlock the door.*
- To release access. *Unlock your phone.*
- To make available. *Unlock the next level.*
- Figuratively, to reveal. *Unlock the potential of the site.*
- Unlocked — not locked. *The car was unlocked.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | unlock | Unlock it. |
| Past | unlocked | He unlocked the gate. |
| Adjective | unlocked | An unlocked phone. |
| Opposite | lock | Lock up. |
| Related | unlockable | Unlockable content. |
- She unlocked the back door.Literal.
- Complete the level to unlock the next map.Games.
- The plan aims to unlock investment.The business metaphor.
The un- prefix
- Reversing — unlock, untie, undo: reverse the action
- Negating — unhappy, unclear: simply not
- Two different prefixes with the same spelling
- Ambiguity is rare but real: *undo* reverses, *undoubted* negates
- Unloosen — a curiosity, since it means the same as loosen
From *un-*, reversing, plus *lock*, Old English *loc*. The verb is recorded from the 1400s and the figurative sense from the 1500s.
Is unlock overused in business writing?
It appears regularly in lists of tired corporate language, alongside leverage and synergy. A plainer verb is usually available.
Why does unloosen mean the same as loosen?
Because the un- here intensifies rather than reverses. English has a handful of these, including unthaw and unpeel.