armlock

noun, verb — 5 senses

armlock

noun

Etymology From arm + lock.

1

A wrestling move in which the opponent's arm is held immobile.

2

Any of several distinct attacks against an opponent’s arm in martial arts.

3

A fighting hold in which the arm is used to immobilise an opponent.

It would keep the bone-cage of his body safe: no enemy's clasp would crush him in it, no vicious armlock choke his life out.1999, Seamus Heaney, Beowulf, London: Faber and Faber, page 47:

4

Broadly, Figuratively Power to control or heavily influence something or someone.

Mr Chávez remains a formidable opponent. […] He has an armlock on the country’s institutions.2012 September 29, “Venezuela’s presidential election: The autocrat and the ballot box”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 20 Dec 2020:

armlock

verb

Etymology From arm + lock.

1

To hold in an armlock.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.