hock

¹ American  

[hok] / hɒk /

noun

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

2. a corresponding joint in a fowl.

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verb (used with object)

1. to hamstring.

hock ² American  

[hok] / hɒk /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. any white Rhine wine.

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hock ³ American  

[hok] / hɒk /

verb (used with object)

1. pawn.

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noun

1. the state of being deposited or held as security; pawn.

   She was forced to put her good jewelry in hock.

2. the condition of owing; debt.

   After the loan was paid, he was finally out of hock.

hock ¹ British  

/ hɒk /

verb

1. (tr) to pawn or pledge

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noun

1. the state of being in pawn (esp in the phrase in hock )

2. 1. in prison

   2. in debt

   3. in pawn

hock ² British  

/ hɒk /

noun

1. the joint at the tarsus of a horse or similar animal, pointing backwards and corresponding to the human ankle

2. the corresponding joint in domestic fowl

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verb

1. another word for hamstring

hock ³ British  

/ hɒk /

noun

1. any of several white wines from the German Rhine

2. (not in technical usage) any dry white wine

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Other Word Forms

• hocker noun

Etymology

Origin of hock¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; variant of dialect hough, from Middle English hough, houh, houe “heel,” from Old English hōh “heel, hough, promontory”; heel ¹, Kew

Origin of hock²

First recorded in 1615–25; short for Hockamore Hochheimer

Origin of hock³

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

Example Sentences

To invent a new market was only a matter of finding a new asset to hock.

From Literature

In the New Statesman, he said: "We've got to get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets".

From BBC

But he also hocks a family ring to put everything he owns on his poor odds to win, which seems reckless.

From Los Angeles Times

On Saturday, Cabinet Minister Lucy Powell told the BBC Labour was "not in hock" to vested interests "at all", and had declared donations correctly.

From BBC

Razor-sharp teeth and surgical precision allow the bats to make an incision in an animal, such as in the hock of a cow, without the animal feeling it.

From Science Daily