docker

¹ American  

[dok-er] / ˈdɒk ər /

noun

1. a laborer on shipping docks; longshoreman.

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docker ² American  

[dok-er] / ˈdɒk ər /

noun

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

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docker ¹ British  

/ ˈdɒkə /

noun

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

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docker ² British  

/ ˈdɒkə /

noun

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

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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

"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

She said he never saw himself as a hero or a celebrity, and was never happier than bringing up his six children and working as a docker in Newport.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2022

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

The docker stopped his watch and crawled back down.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand