the.com/latch bolt
the spring-loaded tongue that lets a door close itself and lie convincingly shut.
means the beveled, spring-loaded piece on a door lock that retracts when pushed against a strike plate and pops back out to hold the door closed.
from descends from centuries of simple door latches, refined once mortise locks in the 1800s paired it with a fixed deadbolt for actual security.
shapeangled face lets it self-retract on closing
partnerdeadbolt has no spring, no bevel
weak pointcan be slipped with a credit card
materialusually brass or steel for wear resistance