Secures with a key

Latest answer — July 20, 2026

44 Across

Think about what you do to a door when you want to keep it closed! 🔑

Scroll down for rest of crossword answers

WaPo Crossword

This clue's Monday, July 20, 2026 appearance

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Across

  1. 1Scouting mission, briefly
  2. 6Assent nonverbally
  3. 9Blue-green hue
  4. 13Greeting at a luau
  5. 14Identical
  6. 15Organ with bronchioles
  7. 16Nickname for Hollywood
  8. 18Meaty spread
  9. 19Meh
  10. 20"Tastes great!"
  11. 21__ to go: full of enthusiasm
  12. 22Sanction for running a red light
  13. 26Hopelessly stuck
  14. 28Peruvian capital
  15. 29One-named "Dancing on My Own" singer
  16. 30Astonish
  17. 32Pepper partner
  18. 36Comm. used by many CODAs
  19. 37Collections with cups and saucers, or a phonetic description of 16-, 22-, 49-, and 60-Across
  20. 40Fish eggs
  21. 41Require
  22. 43Tears
  23. 44Secures with a key
  24. 46King of the Norse pantheon
  25. 48Many a chart-topping song
  26. 49"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers," e.g.
  27. 54Express feelings
  28. 55Approves
  29. 56Like a plump red strawberry
  30. 59Org. with a phonetic alphabet
  31. 60"Magic Tree House" subject
  32. 63Gender-neutral pronoun
  33. 64Zone
  34. 65Gaming giant
  35. 66Back talk
  36. 67Frying vessel
  37. 68Gets soupy, as ice cream

Down

  1. 1Sewer scurriers
  2. 2Pixar film about a boy who meets aliens
  3. 3British police officer
  4. 4"Whoops, my bad"
  5. 5Scottish denial
  6. 6Tennis star Osaka
  7. 7Texter's "Coming!"
  8. 8Cozy room
  9. 9Pack animals known for spitting
  10. 10Elementary subatomic particle
  11. 11Loosen, as a knot
  12. 12Representative
  13. 14Double __ Oreo
  14. 17Uber competitor
  15. 21Outer edge
  16. 23Mom's sister
  17. 24"Blue's __": Nick Jr. show
  18. 25Add color to
  19. 26Tehran's country
  20. 27Rudolph's red body part
  21. 30Exceptionally kind person
  22. 31Baking qty.
  23. 33Biggest competitor
  24. 34Trickster of the Norse pantheon
  25. 35Midterm, e.g.
  26. 38Shallowest Great Lake
  27. 39Opening in a spatula
  28. 42Nylabones, squeak balls, and the like
  29. 45Do surgery
  30. 47Payable now
  31. 48Soft "Hey, you!"
  32. 49Camp shelters
  33. 50Biggest city in the Cornhusker State
  34. 51Parts of a scale
  35. 52People celebrated internationally every March 8
  36. 53Furniture chain founded in Sweden
  37. 57Cheeky
  38. 58Yale students
  39. 60Alternative to bottled, in a restaurant
  40. 61Golden yrs. fund
  41. 62Aries animal

The answer to “Secures with a key” in the The Washington Post crossword is LOCKS — a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Washington Post crossword on July 20, 2026, a Monday puzzle, at 44-Across. Below you'll find why that fill fits, every other answer we've recorded for this clue, and links into the puzzle it came from.

“Secures with a key” answer

LOCKS (5 letters)

Reveal the solution one letter at a time with the tiles above if you'd rather nudge yourself toward it than see the whole word at once. Just want it outright? The answer is LOCKS.

Why the answer is LOCKS

Think about what you do to a door when you want to keep it closed! 🔑

What does LOCKS mean?

Reading the plain dictionary sense of LOCKS is often the fastest way to see why it answers this clue.

(noun)

  • a mechanism for keeping a door, window, lid, or container fastened, typically operated by a key
  • a short section of a canal or river with gates and sluices at each end which can be opened or closed to change the water level, used for raising and lowering boats
  • the turning of the front wheels of a vehicle to change its direction of motion

When else has “Secures with a key” appeared?

The Washington Post reuses clues across dates, sometimes with a different answer depending on the grid. Here's where this exact clue has shown up, and what the answer was each time — handy when you're checking whether today's fill is the only one.

July 20, 2026 (most recent) → LOCKS. We haven't indexed another appearance of this exact clue yet.

Frequently asked questions

What is the answer to “Secures with a key”?

The answer is LOCKS, a 5-letter word. It most recently appeared in the The Washington Post crossword on July 20, 2026.

How many letters is the answer to “Secures with a key”?

5 letters: LOCKS.

When did this clue appear?

Most recently in the The Washington Post crossword on July 20, 2026 (a Monday puzzle), at 44-Across.

Can “Secures with a key” have a different answer?

Yes — The Washington Post sometimes reuses a clue with a different solution to fit the grid. The answers we've recorded for each date it appeared are listed above when available.

Where can I find the rest of this day's WaPo Crossword answers?

The full grid for July 20, 2026 is on the WaPo Crossword answers page, with every clue and answer from that puzzle.

The Washington Post Crossword is published by The Washington Post; WordHint is an independent site and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher.

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