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How would you name or describe such a type of door lock? For instance, if you would like to buy one exactly like this. Is it a "latch", a "door bolt" or maybe something else?

In Russian there is a special word "шпингалет". But it looks like Google Translate can't suggest a good translation for it.

Picture of a small lock device, such as might be found in a bathroom

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2 Answers 2

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It seems that you can call it a door bolt, but I think it's specifically called a barrel bolt enter image description here

  1. Lowe's
  2. Stanley Hardware
  3. The Home Depot
  4. B&Q
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  • Or door bolt.
    – Mick
    Oct 24, 2016 at 8:33
  • Yeah thanks, I thought of that too, but that seemed to be a broad name. Other bolts that don't quite look like this would also be door bolts. So, I decided to try to be specific.
    – Em. ♦
    Oct 24, 2016 at 8:39
  • Barrel bolt might be confused with barrel lock, which is a different kettle of fish. (But B&Q seem to call them barrel bolts.)
    – Mick
    Oct 24, 2016 at 8:42
  • This seems to be the right answer in the given context of "I want to go to the hardware store and know what to ask for" so +1. I suspect that this term might not be common among the general populace of the UK (I can't speak for other Englishes) but the worst that could happen is that the asker will have to explain when he tells all his friends, "Hey, I just bought an awesome new barrel bolt!" and they say, "What's one of those?"
    – David Richerby
    Oct 24, 2016 at 9:28
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    Maybe this is already known, but I thought I would mention it in case there's confusion later: "Door bolt" is a different term than "deadbolt". A deadbolt, at least where I am from, refers to the large bolt that is (usually) within the door itself and is turned directly by a key: goo.gl/images/71XEvW
    – elmer007
    Oct 24, 2016 at 20:27
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Max's answer has already given what appears to be the correct term so I'll just say a couple of things about the other options presented in the question.

The item shown is a kind of latch, but "latch" is a very broad term covering almost any part of a door that's used to keep it closed. My impression is that "latch" is usually used for something that automatically engages when the door is closed, such as the wedge-shaped thing controlled by an ordinary interior door handle.

"Door bolt" is, I think, a term that would be widely understood and interpreted to mean the object in the question.

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  • ' "latch" is a very broad term covering almost any part of a door that's used to keep it closed ' or even to keep it unlocked, as in 'on the latch'
    – Pete Kirkham
    Oct 24, 2016 at 11:25
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    @PeteKirkham "On the latch" just means "closed but not locked". The latch is the part that keeps it closed and the person who didn't lock it is the part that keeps it unlocked.
    – David Richerby
    Oct 24, 2016 at 11:28
  • For a Yale or similar lock, there's a second latch activated by a small button to prevent the main latch changing state. When that latch is active, the door is 'on the latch' as opposed to locked.
    – Pete Kirkham
    Oct 24, 2016 at 11:45
  • This is what a traditional "door latch" looks like in British English - a different design from the OP's picture. With a "latch", the door can always to opened from either side (by operating the lever that goes through a hole in the door) - there is no "lock". hallowellco.com/Norfolk-latch---rear-side.jpg.
    – alephzero
    Oct 24, 2016 at 12:59

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