a portable lock with a bow which is usually jointed or pivoted at one end so that it can be opened, the other end being fastened by the bolt, -- used for fastening by passing the bow through a staple over a hasp or through the links of a chain, etc.-fig.: a curb; a restraint.-to fasten with, or as with, a padlock; to stop; to shut; to confine as by a padlock.