hock

[ hok ]

See synonyms for hock on Thesaurus.com

noun

the joint in the hind leg of a horse, cow, etc., above the fetlock joint, corresponding anatomically to the ankle in humans.
a corresponding joint in a fowl.

verb (used with object)

to hamstring.

Origin of hock

First recorded in 1375–1425; variant of dialect hough, from Middle English hough, houh, houe “heel,” from Old English hōh “heel, hough, promontory”; see also heel¹, Kew

Words Nearby hock

Other definitions for hock (2 of 3)

hock²

[ hok ]

nounChiefly British.

any white Rhine wine.

Origin of hock

First recorded in 1615–25; short for HockamoreHochheimer

Other definitions for hock (3 of 3)

hock³

[ hok ]

verb (used with object)

pawn¹ (def. 1).

noun

the state of being deposited or held as security; pawn: She was forced to put her good jewelry in hock.
the condition of owing; debt: After the loan was paid, he was finally out of hock.

Origin of hock

An Americanism dating back to 1855–60; from Dutch hok “kennel, sty, pen, (informal) miserable place to live, prison”

Other words from hock

hocker, noun

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

How to use hock in a sentence

A man like Ti, my informant explains, buys jewels whenever he is in the money, to sell or hock when times are hard.
Portrait of the Consummate Con Man | John Lardner | May 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Attorneys for hock and Jah could not be reached for comment.
Royal Showdown in New York Court | Lizzie Crocker | February 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
According to court documents, hock flatly denies the allegations.
Royal Showdown in New York Court | Lizzie Crocker | February 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
When hock emerged from jail uninjured, both he and Strazzullo poured forth to the press.
Royal Showdown in New York Court | Lizzie Crocker | February 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
hock, the source says, was the aggressor who clocked Casiraghi first.
Royal Showdown in New York Court | Lizzie Crocker | February 4, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

A pedantic fellow called for a bottle of hock at a tavern, which the waiter, not hearing distinctly, asked him to repeat.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | Various
If they liked to take a glass of hock with their tobacco, there was a bottle ready from the cellars of Johannisberg.
Endymion | Benjamin Disraeli
He nodded to me as though we had parted the day before, and ordered a chop and a small hock.
The Observations of Henry | Jerome K. Jerome
They clicked their heels and kissed her hand and drank her health many times in good hock.
The Keepers of the King's Peace | Edgar Wallace
Each leg will thus supply a comfortable Wellington, in which the point of the hock has become the heel.
Wanderings in Patagonia | Julius Beerbohm

British Dictionary definitions for hock (1 of 3)

hock¹

/ (hɒk) /

noun

the joint at the tarsus of a horse or similar animal, pointing backwards and corresponding to the human ankle
the corresponding joint in domestic fowl

verb

another word for hamstring

Origin of hock

C16: short for hockshin, from Old English hōhsinu heel sinew

British Dictionary definitions for hock (2 of 3)

hock²

/ (hɒk) /

noun

any of several white wines from the German Rhine
(not in technical usage) any dry white wine

Origin of hock

C17: short for obsolete hockamore Hochheimer

British Dictionary definitions for hock (3 of 3)

hock³

/ (hɒk) informal, mainly US and Canadian /

verb

(tr) to pawn or pledge

noun

the state of being in pawn (esp in the phrase in hock)
in hock
- in prison
- in debt
- in pawn

Origin of hock

C19: from Dutch hok prison, debt

Derived forms of hock

hocker, noun

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

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