hock

[ hok ]

/ hɒk /

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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.

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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

Hochhuth, Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh Trail, hochmagandy, hock, hocket, Hockett, hockey, hockey mom, hockey skate

Other definitions for hock (2 of 3)

hock²

[ hok ]

/ hɒk /

noun Chiefly 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 ]

/ hɒk /

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. 2021

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|DAILY BEAST
Attorneys for Hock and Jah could not be reached for comment.
Royal Showdown in New York Court|Lizzie Crocker|February 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
According to court documents, Hock flatly denies the allegations.
Royal Showdown in New York Court|Lizzie Crocker|February 4, 2013|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|DAILY BEAST

Hock, the source says, was the aggressor who clocked Casiraghi first.
Royal Showdown in New York Court|Lizzie Crocker|February 4, 2013|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

Word Origin for 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

Word Origin for 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

Derived forms of hock

hocker, noun

Word Origin for hock

C19: from Dutch hok prison, debt

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

hock

Origin of hock

Words nearby hock

Other definitions for hock (2 of 3)

Origin of hock

Other definitions for hock (3 of 3)

Origin of hock

OTHER WORDS FROM hock

Words related to hock

How to use hock in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for hock (1 of 3)

Word Origin for hock

British Dictionary definitions for hock (2 of 3)

Word Origin for hock

British Dictionary definitions for hock (3 of 3)

Derived forms of hock

Word Origin for hock