latching

Etymology

verb

1. present participle and gerund of latch

adj

1. That latches.
   A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place. 2012-03, Henry Petroski, “Opening Doors”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, pages 112–3

noun

1. The act of fastening a latch.
2. (nautical) A loop or eye formed on the head rope of a bonnet, by which it is attached to the foot of a sail.
3. (linguistics) The situation where one speaker's utterance immediately follows another speaker's utterance, without pause or overlap.