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cog

1
[ kog, kawg ]
/ kɒg, kɔg /
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noun
a gear tooth, formerly especially one of hardwood or metal, fitted into a slot in a gearwheel of less durable material.
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.
(of an electric motor) to move jerkily.
verb (used with object), cogged, cog·ging.
to roll or hammer (an ingot) into a bloom or slab.
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Idioms about cog

    slip a cog, to make a blunder; err: One of the clerks must have slipped a cog.

Origin of cog

1
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 (see cudgel)

Other definitions for cog (2 of 4)

cog2
[ kog, kawg ]
/ kɒg, kɔg /

verb (used with object), cogged, cog·ging.
to manipulate or load (dice) unfairly.
verb (used without object), cogged, cog·ging.
to cheat, especially at dice.

Origin of cog

2
First recorded in 1525–35; origin uncertain

Other definitions for cog (3 of 4)

cog3
[ kog, kawg ]
/ kɒg, kɔg /

noun
Carpentry. (in a cogged joint) the tongue in one timber, fitting into a corresponding slot in another.
Mining. a cluster of timber supports for a roof.Compare chock (def. 4).
verb (used with or without object), cogged, cog·ging.
Carpentry. to join with a cog.

Origin of cog

3
1855–60; special use of cog1; replacing cock in same sense, special use of cock1 (in sense of projection); see coak

Other definitions for cog (4 of 4)

cog.

abbreviation
cognate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cog in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cog (1 of 3)

cog1
/ (kɒɡ) /

noun
any of the teeth or projections on the rim of a gearwheel or sprocket
a gearwheel, esp a small one
a person or thing playing a small part in a large organization or process
verb cogs, cogging or cogged
(tr) metallurgy to roll (cast-steel ingots) to convert them into blooms

Word Origin for cog

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

British Dictionary definitions for cog (2 of 3)

cog2
/ (kɒɡ) /

verb cogs, cogging or cogged
slang to cheat (in a game, esp dice), as by loading a dice

Word Origin for cog

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

British Dictionary definitions for cog (3 of 3)

cog3
/ (kɒɡ) /

noun
a tenon that projects from the end of a timber beam for fitting into a mortise
verb cogs, cogging or cogged
(tr) to join (pieces of wood) with cogs

Word Origin for cog

C19: of uncertain origin
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 cog

cog

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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