A constraint that prevents a transaction or output from being spent until a specified time or block height.
Timelocks restrict spending until a block height (nLockTime, CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY) or relative time (nSequence, CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY) is reached. They’re essential building blocks for payment channels, escrows, and refund paths.
"An escrow output pays the recipient today, but includes a timelocked refund branch that returns funds to the sender if unclaimed after 30 days."
All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.