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View synonyms for cog

cog

1

[ kog, kawg ]

noun

  1. a gear tooth, formerly especially one of hardwood or metal, fitted into a slot in a gearwheel of less durable material.
  2. a person who plays a minor part in a large organization, activity, etc.:

    He's just a small cog in the financial department.



verb (used without object)

, cogged, cog·ging.
  1. (of an electric motor) to move jerkily.

verb (used with object)

, cogged, cog·ging.
  1. to roll or hammer (an ingot) into a bloom or slab.

cog

2

[ kog, kawg ]

verb (used with object)

, cogged, cog·ging.
  1. to manipulate or load (dice) unfairly.

verb (used without object)

, cogged, cog·ging.
  1. to cheat, especially at dice.

cog

3

[ kog, kawg ]

noun

  1. Carpentry. (in a cogged joint) the tongue in one timber, fitting into a corresponding slot in another.
  2. Mining. a cluster of timber supports for a roof. Compare chock ( def 4 ).

verb (used with or without object)

, cogged, cog·ging.
  1. Carpentry. to join with a cog.

cog.

4

abbreviation for

  1. cognate.

cog

1

/ kɒɡ /

verb

  1. slang.
    to cheat (in a game, esp dice), as by loading a dice
“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


cog

2

/ kɒɡ /

noun

  1. a tenon that projects from the end of a timber beam for fitting into a mortise
“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

verb

  1. tr to join (pieces of wood) with cogs
“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

cog

3

/ kɒɡ /

noun

  1. any of the teeth or projections on the rim of a gearwheel or sprocket
  2. a gearwheel, esp a small one
  3. a person or thing playing a small part in a large organization or process
“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

verb

  1. tr metallurgy to roll (cast-steel ingots) to convert them into blooms
“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cog1

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English cogge, probably from a North Germanic language; compare Swedish kugge, Norwegian kugg “cog”; akin to German Kugel “bullet, ball, shot,” Old English cycgel ( cudgel ( def ) )

Origin of cog2

First recorded in 1525–35; origin uncertain

Origin of cog3

1855–60; special use of cog 1; replacing cock in same sense, special use of cock 1 (in sense of projection); coak
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cog1

C16: originally a dice-playing term, of unknown origin

Origin of cog2

C19: of uncertain origin

Origin of cog3

C13: of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish kogge, Swedish kugge, Norwegian kug
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. slip a cog, to make a blunder; err:

    One of the clerks must have slipped a cog.

More idioms and phrases containing cog

In addition to the idiom beginning with cog , also see slip a cog .
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Example Sentences

A poor cog in the machine, she seemed to feel no more disgrace than a blood-diamond miner.

You might be a cog at a trading desk, compensated with nothing but money.

The apples are heaped on all sides, and are first crushed between wooden cog-wheels and caught in tubs.

Nay,” returned Mr. Archer with a smile, “no man can put complete reliance in blind fate; he must still cog the dice.

Each one is a cog in the vast organization and one slip may disrupt the whole arrangement.

Back in the East, things have been settled for so long that a man's only a cog in a machine.

Here, though, was evidence either that the War Lord was running out of metal or that his system had slipped a cog.

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Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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

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