Definitions for "lock nut"
Keywords:  nut, loosening, torque, screwed, washer
a supplementary nut that is screwed down on a primary nut to prevent it from loosening; a check nut.
There are two common usage's of this term: 1. A nut which provides extra resistance to vibration loosening by either providing some form of prevailing torque, or, in free spinning nuts, by deforming and/or biting into mating parts when fully tightened. 2. The term is sometimes used for thin (or jam) nuts used to lock a thicker nut. When used in this way the thin nut should be adjacent to the joint surface and tightened against the thick nut. If placed on top of the thick nut the thin nut would sustain loads it was not designed to sustain.
A nut used in combination with a locking washer to hold a bearing in place.