beck

1
[ bek ]
See synonyms for beck on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a gesture used to signal, summon, or direct someone.

  2. Chiefly Scot. a bow or curtsy of greeting.

verb (used with or without object)
  1. Archaic. beckon.

Idioms about beck

  1. at someone's beck and call, ready to do someone's bidding; subject to someone's slightest wish: He has three servants at his beck and call.

Origin of beck

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb bekken, bec, variant of beckenen, bek(e)nen beckon; noun derivative of the verb

Words Nearby beck

Other definitions for beck (2 of 4)

beck2
[ bek ]

nounNorth England.
  1. a brook, especially a swiftly running stream with steep banks.

Origin of beck

2
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English bek, bec(k), from Scandinavian; compare Old Norse bekkr; akin to Old English bæc, bec, bece, Dutch beek, German Bach “brook”

Other definitions for beck (3 of 4)

beck3
[ bek ]

verb (used with object)Metalworking.
  1. to form (a billet or the like) into a tire or hoop by rolling or hammering on a mandrel or anvil.

Origin of beck

3
First recorded in 1830–35 as beck-iron; verb use of the noun beck, shortening of beck-iron, a variant of bick-iron

Other definitions for Beck (4 of 4)

Beck
[ bek ]

noun
  1. Dave, 1894–1993, U.S. labor leader: president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters 1952–57.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use beck in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for beck (1 of 2)

beck1

/ (bɛk) /


noun
  1. a nod, wave, or other gesture or signal

  2. at someone's beck and call ready to obey someone's orders instantly; subject to someone's slightest whim

Origin of beck

1
C14: short for becnen to beckon

British Dictionary definitions for beck (2 of 2)

beck2

/ (bɛk) /


noun
  1. (in N England) a stream, esp a swiftly flowing one

Origin of beck

2
Old English becc, from Old Norse bekkr; related to Old English bece, Old Saxon beki, Old High German bah brook, Sanskrit bhanga wave

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with beck

beck

see at someone's beck and call.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.