diff --git a/bin/pg_repack.c b/bin/pg_repack.c
index 6b9cde6..80bbada 100644
--- a/bin/pg_repack.c
+++ b/bin/pg_repack.c
@@ -252,6 +252,7 @@ static bool				moveidx = false;
 static SimpleStringList	r_index = {NULL, NULL};
 static bool				only_indexes = false;
 static int				wait_timeout = 60;	/* in seconds */
+static int				max_lock_timeout_msec = 1000;
 static int				jobs = 0;	/* number of concurrent worker conns. */
 static bool				dryrun = false;
 static unsigned int		temp_obj_num = 0; /* temporary objects counter */
@@ -285,6 +286,7 @@ static pgut_option options[] =
 	{ 'l', 'i', "index", &r_index },
 	{ 'b', 'x', "only-indexes", &only_indexes },
 	{ 'i', 'T', "wait-timeout", &wait_timeout },
+	{ 'i', 'm', "max-lock-timeout", &max_lock_timeout_msec },
 	{ 'B', 'Z', "no-analyze", &analyze },
 	{ 'i', 'j', "jobs", &jobs },
 	{ 'b', 'D', "no-kill-backend", &no_kill_backend },
@@ -320,6 +322,10 @@ main(int argc, char *argv[])
 	if (dryrun)
 		elog(INFO, "Dry run enabled, not executing repack");
 
+	if (max_lock_timeout_msec < 1 || max_lock_timeout_msec > 1000)
+		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(EINVAL),
+			errmsg("--max-lock-timeout must be between 1 and 1000")));
+
 	if (r_index.head || only_indexes)
 	{
 		if (r_index.head && table_list.head)
@@ -1916,6 +1922,7 @@ lock_exclusive(PGconn *conn, const char *relid, const char *lock_query, bool sta
 		char		sql[1024];
 		PGresult   *res;
 		int			wait_msec;
+		int			timeout_msec;
 
 		if (start_xact)
 			pgut_command(conn, "BEGIN ISOLATION LEVEL READ COMMITTED", 0, NULL);
@@ -1964,7 +1971,8 @@ lock_exclusive(PGconn *conn, const char *relid, const char *lock_query, bool sta
 
 		/* wait for a while to lock the table. */
 		wait_msec = Min(1000, i * 100);
-		snprintf(sql, lengthof(sql), "SET LOCAL lock_timeout = %d", wait_msec);
+		timeout_msec = Min(wait_msec, max_lock_timeout_msec);
+		snprintf(sql, lengthof(sql), "SET LOCAL lock_timeout = %d", timeout_msec);
 		pgut_command(conn, sql, 0, NULL);
 
 		res = pgut_execute_elevel(conn, lock_query, 0, NULL, DEBUG2);
@@ -1981,6 +1989,8 @@ lock_exclusive(PGconn *conn, const char *relid, const char *lock_query, bool sta
 				pgut_rollback(conn);
 			else
 				pgut_command(conn, "ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT repack_sp1", 0, NULL);
+			if (timeout_msec < wait_msec)
+				usleep(1000 * (wait_msec - timeout_msec));
 			continue;
 		}
 		else
@@ -2415,6 +2425,7 @@ pgut_help(bool details)
 	printf("  -i, --index=INDEX             move only the specified index\n");
 	printf("  -x, --only-indexes            move only indexes of the specified table\n");
 	printf("  -T, --wait-timeout=SECS       timeout to cancel other backends on conflict\n");
+	printf("  -m, --max-lock-timeout=MS     max millisecond timeout for a strong lock attempt\n");
 	printf("  -D, --no-kill-backend         don't kill other backends when timed out\n");
 	printf("  -Z, --no-analyze              don't analyze at end\n");
 	printf("  -k, --no-superuser-check      skip superuser checks in client\n");
diff --git a/doc/pg_repack.rst b/doc/pg_repack.rst
index 1a92f5e..7541435 100644
--- a/doc/pg_repack.rst
+++ b/doc/pg_repack.rst
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ Options:
   -i, --index=INDEX             move only the specified index
   -x, --only-indexes            move only indexes of the specified table
   -T, --wait-timeout=SECS       timeout to cancel other backends on conflict
+  -m, --max-lock-timeout=MS     max millisecond timeout for a strong lock attempt
   -D, --no-kill-backend         don't kill other backends when timed out
   -Z, --no-analyze              don't analyze at end
   -k, --no-superuser-check      skip superuser checks in client
@@ -212,6 +213,20 @@ Reorg Options
     backends after twice this timeout has passed.
     The default is 60 seconds.
 
+``-m MS``, ``--max-lock-timeout=MS``
+    When attempting to take an exclusive lock, pg_repack sets a short timeout
+    for the lock command and makes repeated attempts to get the lock. This
+    avoids blocking all access to the table for up to ``--wait-timeout``
+    seconds if a long-running query is in the way. The lock timeout is
+    increased with each attempt, up to maximum of ``--max-lock-timeout``
+    milliseconds.
+    The default is 1000, i.e. 1 second.
+    If you want to avoid undue delay to queries on timescales much less than 1
+    second, setting a lower ``--max-lock-timeout`` will help. It comes at the
+    cost of making each lock attempt less likely to succeed, which may cause
+    the pg_repack run to take much longer.
+    Currently, values larger than 1000 are not supported.
+
 ``-D``, ``--no-kill-backend``
     Skip to repack table if the lock cannot be taken for duration specified
     ``--wait-timeout``, instead of cancelling conflicting queries. The default