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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

They use a becket, in the same manner as at Tanna, in throwing the dart, which, I believe, is much used in striking fish, etc.

From A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World Volume 2 by James Cook

Tanner suddenly straightened up, and slipping the wheel swiftly into the becket, he ran to the taffrail and looked over the side.

From The Harbor of Doubt by George W. Gage

I put the wheel in the becket and in one jump released the mains’l throat-halyards, while another fellow released the peak.

From The Harbor of Doubt by George W. Gage

Hand in hand they leaped into the sea; and Denman, towing the girl by the becket of her life-buoy, paid no attention to the sinking hull until satisfied that they were safe from the suction.

From The Wreck of the Titan or, Futility by Morgan Robertson

Soap in the becket over top of it.

From The Woman-Haters: a yarn of Eastboro twin-lights by Joseph Crosby Lincoln

The Becket Fund defends religious liberty for people of disparate faiths.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Thus was born the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty—which Viet Dinh, a former assistant attorney general, calls “God’s ACLU.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

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

Ruth, a fashion designer who quits the high-pressure world to become a teacher, acts as a contrast to the hustle culture-inspired ambitions of wannabe billionaire Becket, Henwick says.

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2026

He retired just before his end to the priory of St Thomas, near Stafford, which he had founded in 1180 in memory of Thomas à Becket, who had been murdered ten years previously.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Lichfield A Description of Its Fabric and A Brief History of the Espicopal See by A. B. Clifton

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