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• becket
  becket

  noun

  a short length of rope for securing spars, coils of rope, etc., having an eye at one end and a thick knot or a toggle at the other, which is passed through the eye.
• Becket
  Becket

  noun

  Saint Thomas à, 1118?–70, archbishop of Canterbury: murdered because of his opposition to Henry II's policies toward the church.

becket

¹ American  

[bek-it] / ˈbɛk ɪt /

noun

Nautical.

1. a short length of rope for securing spars, coils of rope, etc., having an eye at one end and a thick knot or a toggle at the other, which is passed through the eye.

2. a grommet of rope, as one used as a handle or oarlock.

3. a grommet or eye on a block to which the standing end of a fall can be secured.

4. a wooden cleat or hook secured to the shrouds of a sailing vessel to hold tacks and sheets not in use.

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Becket ² American  

[bek-it] / ˈbɛk ɪt /

noun

1. Saint Thomas à, 1118?–70, archbishop of Canterbury: murdered because of his opposition to Henry II's policies toward the church.

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becket ¹ British  

/ ˈbɛkɪt /

noun

1. a clevis forming part of one end of a sheave, used for securing standing lines by means of a thimble

2. a short line with a grommet or eye at one end and a knot at the other, used for securing spars or other gear in place

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Becket ² British  

/ ˈbɛkɪt /

noun

1. Saint Thomas à . 1118–70, English prelate; chancellor (1155–62) to Henry II; archbishop of Canterbury (1162–70): murdered following his opposition to Henry's attempts to control the clergy. Feast day: Dec 29 or July 7

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Etymology

Origin of becket

First recorded in 1760–70; origin uncertain

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

becket Becket

The kassab, after having hung the fore-topsail halyards in the becket, strutted into the waist toward a row of men who stood idly with their shoulders against the side of the long boat amidships.

From The Rescue A Romance of the Shallows by Joseph Conrad

Fasten a becket or loop of rope at a suitable position on the mast, to set the heel of the sprit into.

From St. Nicholas Magazine for Boys and Girls, Vol. 5, January 1878, No. 3 by Mary Mapes Dodge

The harpoon iron is a socketed tool, tapering 3 feet to the barb-heads; on that iron socket a becket is worked; the staff fits in loosely.

From The Sailor's Word-Book An Alphabetical Digest of Nautical Terms, including Some More Especially Military and Scientific, but Useful to Seamen; as well as Archaisms of Early Voyagers, etc. by Sir Edward Belcher

"Oh, then we make things taut, hoist fores'l, clap the hellum into the lee becket, and go below and amuse ourselves."

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 56, June, 1862 by Various

They hold the dart between the thumb and the remaining finger, which serve only to give direction, the velocity being communicated by the becket and forefinger.

From Tropic Days by E. J. (Edmund James) Banfield

On our way there, we stopped in Heptonstall, a tiny town above Hebden Bridge, where Sylvia Plath is buried in the St. Thomas A’ Becket churchyard.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

While walking the Becket Way, her group will join prayer services at churches, cathedrals and abbeys, as well as meeting with other pilgrims and visiting schools.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

“Parents’ fundamental right to raise their children according to their faith doesn’t stop at the schoolhouse door,” said Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2026

This sets up a black-comedy revenge saga built around Becket, Mary’s boy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

He remained neutral, as far as he could, in the quarrel between Henry and Becket, but he at least connived at the rebellion of 1173 and William the Lion’s invasion of England in that year.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 8 "Hudson River" to "Hurstmonceaux" by Various

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