shock

¹

[shok]

noun

1. a sudden and violent blow or impact; collision.

2. a sudden or violent disturbance or commotion.

   the shock of battle.

3. a sudden or violent disturbance of the mind, emotions, or sensibilities.

   The burglary was a shock to her sense of security. The book provided a shock, nothing more.

4. the cause of such a disturbance.

   The rebuke came as a shock.

5. Pathology.,  a collapse of circulatory function, caused by severe injury, blood loss, or disease, and characterized by pallor, sweating, weak pulse, and very low blood pressure.

6. the physiological effect produced by the passage of an electric current through the body.

7. Informal.,  shocks, shock absorbers, especially in the suspension of an automobile.

verb (used with object)

1. to strike or jar with intense surprise, horror, disgust, etc..

   He enjoyed shocking people.

   Synonyms: stupefy, astound, stagger

2. to strike against violently.

3. to give an electric shock to.

verb (used without object)

1. to undergo a shock.

shock

²

[shok]

noun

1. a group of sheaves of grain placed on end and supporting one another in the field.

verb (used with object)

1. to make into shocks.

shock

³

[shok]

noun

1. a thick, bushy mass, as of hair.

2. Also shock dog a dog with long, shaggy hair.

adjective

1. shaggy, as hair.

shock

¹

/ ʃɒk /

verb

1. to experience or cause to experience extreme horror, disgust, surprise, etc

   the atrocities shocked us

   she shocks easily

2. to cause a state of shock in (a person)

3. to come or cause to come into violent contact; jar

noun

1. a sudden and violent jarring blow or impact

2. something that causes a sudden and violent disturbance in the emotions

   the shock of her father's death made her ill

3. pathol a state of bodily collapse or near collapse caused by circulatory failure or sudden lowering of the blood pressure, as from severe bleeding, burns, fright, etc

4. pathol pain and muscular spasm as the physical reaction to an electric current passing through the body

shock

²

/ ʃɒk /

noun

1. a number of sheaves set on end in a field to dry

2. a pile or stack of unthreshed corn

verb

1. (tr) to set up (sheaves) in shocks

shock

³

/ ʃɒk /

noun

1. a thick bushy mass, esp of hair

adjective

1. rare,  bushy; shaggy

shock

1. An instance of the passage of an electric current through the body. The amount of injury caused by electric shock depends on the type and strength of the current, the length of time the current is applied, and the route the current takes once it enters the body.

2. A life-threatening condition marked by a severe drop in blood pressure, resulting from serious injury or illness.

Other Word Forms

• shockable adjective
• shockability noun
• shockedness noun
• shocklike adjective
• unshockability noun
• unshockable adjective
• shocker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of shock¹

First recorded in 1565–75; from Middle French choc “armed encounter,” noun derivative of choquer “to clash (in battle),” from Germanic (probably Frankish); compare Dutch schokken “to shake, jolt, jerk”

Origin of shock²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English shok, shocke, shok(k)e; cognate with Middle Low German, Low German scok, schok, all meaning “shock of grain, group of sixty,” German Schock “sixty”

Origin of shock³

First recorded in 1815–20; special use of shock ² (the hair being compared to a shock of wheat)

Word History and Origins

Origin of shock¹

C16: from Old French choc, from choquier to make violent contact with, of Germanic origin; related to Middle High German schoc

Origin of shock²

C14: probably of Germanic origin; compare Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schok shock of corn, group of sixty

Origin of shock³

C19: perhaps from _shock ²

Idioms and Phrases

see culture shock.

Synonym Study

Shock, startle, paralyze, stun suggest a sudden, sharp surprise that affects one somewhat like a blow. Shock suggests a strong blow, as it were, to one's nerves, sentiments, sense of decency, etc.: The onlookers were shocked by the accident. Startle implies the sharp surprise of sudden fright: to be startled by a loud noise. Paralyze implies such a complete shock as to render one temporarily helpless: paralyzed with fear. Stun implies such a shock as bewilders or stupefies: stunned by the realization of an unpleasant truth.

Example Sentences

"People are always quite shocked when I give them a tour and tell them I got married here too."

From BBC

Local resident Sharmone was shocked to find one such meeting in full swing as he passed the store one night recently.

From BBC

He did realise when he logged on to the booking site and told Your Voice, Your BBC News he was shocked to find out the criteria had changed.

From BBC

“This news came as a complete shock to our entire team.”

From Los Angeles Times

The final two unbeaten records in the NFL failed to make it beyond week five as the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills suffered shock home defeats.

From BBC

Related Words

• agitate 
• anger 
• astound 
• awe 
• disgust 
• dismay 
• displease 
• disturb 
• flabbergast 
• horrify 
• insult 
• jar 
• jolt 
• offend 
• outrage 
• overwhelm 
• paralyze 
• rock 
• shake 
• shake up 

When To Use

What is a basic definition of shock?

A shock is a sudden, intense mental or physical impact. Shock is also the effect of having electricity run through the body. To shock someone means to intensely surprise or horrify someone. Shock has several other senses as a noun and a verb.The word shock often refers to a sudden mental disturbance that causes an intense emotion, usually surprise or horror. You might feel a shock when you see a failing grade on a test. The word shock can also refer to whatever causes this sudden surprise. The noun shocker and adjective shocking often refer to this sense of shock.

• Used in a sentence: It took Julie a few minutes to recover from the shock of seeing a dancing circus bear in her living room. 

Shock is used in this same sense as a verb to mean to cause someone to be suddenly overwhelmed by emotion (usually surprise or horror).

• Used in a sentence: I was shocked by my incredibly high phone bill.  

A shock can also be a sudden physical impact. This sense is less common than the emotional one.

• Used in a sentence: The springs absorbed most of the shock from colliding with the wall. 

Shock also refers to the bodily imbalance, discomfort, or damage caused by electricity running through a person’s body. This sense is often specifically referred to as “an electric shock,” especially when discussing injuries or medical emergencies.

• Used in a sentence: The electrician barely survived the electric shock he got while working on the power lines. 

In this same sense, shock is used as a verb to mean to give an electric shock to someone.

• Used in a sentence: The squirrel was shocked by the cord while chewing on it.