English

Noun

tidal lock ‎(plural tidal locks)

1. (astronomy) Alternative form of tidal locking
   • 2014 September 7, Natalie Angier, “The Moon comes around again [print version: Revisiting a moon that still has secrets to reveal: Supermoon revives interest in its violent origins and hidden face, International New York Times, 10 September 2014, p. 8]”, in The New York Times:

     […] [T]he moon's familiar patchwork of dark and light splotches. It's the only side of the moon we ever see from home base, a result of Earth's having yanked its satellite into a so-called tidal lock: The time it takes the moon to rotate once on its axis is the same as the four weeks it takes to orbit Earth, which means the same side is always turned toward us.