locked in
- Literally
- Locked in: shut in, secured, unable to be distracted.
- Meaning
- Completely focused, with every distraction shut out.
- Popular since
- 2023
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What does locked in mean?
Being locked in is the mental version of a door closing. The phone goes face down, the group chat goes unanswered, and the only visible activity is the task. Sports announcers used it for players in a trance of concentration, and the internet adopted it for study sessions, gym streaks and deadline sprints. It is the opposite of a touch grass break: the world can wait.
Where does locked in come from?
The phrase lived in sports and gaming long before it went viral. Around 2023, TikTok turned it into a genre: videos of people announcing they were locking in, usually set to dramatic music, followed by weeks of radio silence and a return with receipts.
How to use locked in
- Finals start Monday, so I deleted every app and locked in for two weeks.
- He said one sentence in the group chat, then went quiet. Everyone knew he had locked in.
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