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docker

1 American  
[dok-er] / ˈdɒk ər /

noun

  1. a laborer on shipping docks; longshoreman.


docker 2 American  
[dok-er] / ˈdɒk ər /

noun

  1. a person or thing that docks or cuts short.


docker 1 British  
/ ˈdɒkə /

noun

  1. US and Canadian equivalent: longshoreman.  a man employed in the loading or unloading of ships See also stevedore

"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

docker 2 British  
/ ˈdɒkə /

noun

  1. a person or thing that docks something, such as the tail of a horse

"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

Etymology

Origin of docker1

First recorded in 1755–65; dock 1 + -er 1

Origin of docker2

First recorded in 1800–10; dock 2 + -er 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"We don't know if the new authority will hire us or restructure the entire system," striking docker Nur Uddin, 55, told AFP on Saturday.

From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025

Apple's dropping new iPads with whiz-bang Lidar features and shiny new cases and all I want is an iPad with a proper shell where I can run homebrew, docker, python, cron jobs and the like.

From The Verge • Apr. 21, 2020

Cole pairs their history with that of black South African docker organizing that presaged the struggle against apartheid by decades, and created an early and durable institutional stronghold of black power in South Africa.

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2019

His father was a docker, his mother was a cleaner at a department store, who also spent time on the biscuit counter.

From Reuters • Nov. 23, 2018

The government men were hauling a sodden docker from the polluted waters.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer