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

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

Voices like Nina Simone’s might be ringing through her halls while greens and ham hock slowly simmer in a large pot.
This Revolutionary Chef Wants to Topple the Table | Shaan Merchant | January 30, 2021 | Ozy
Accusations that Democrats are doing the bidding of China, and may literally be in hock to it, have transferred from the campaign to the transition period, with a good chance of shaping politics over the next year.
The Trailer: Why the GOP is talking about China, from Georgia to the courtroom | David Weigel | December 10, 2020 | Washington Post
Schools closed, the deficit ballooned, highways crumbled, jobs disappeared—I imagine ruby slippers were hocked.
Will the GOP Get the Message in Kansas? | Ana Marie Cox | October 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Tester uses the word "cool" as often as a tween, and I lost count of all the loogies he hocked in my presence.
Senator Jon Tester: The Democrats' Last Best Hope | Andrew Romano | May 8, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
The comedienne even finished it off with a hocked loogie and a groin grab.
15 Best and Worst Celebrity National Anthem Performances | The Daily Beast Video | July 1, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST

The old soldier ambled up the village street, all shadowy in the dawn, on a gaunt, scissor-hocked pony.
Kim | Rudyard Kipling
Thirty cents, and my last collateral security hocked and the ticket lost!
Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York | Lemuel Ely Quigg
I've hocked ev'ryt'ing dat would bring in a dollar, an' dis is de las' t'ing I've got.
Bowery Life | Chuck Connors
Cow-hocked, clumsy about the ankles; with large or awkward feet.
The Slang Dictionary | John Camden Hotten
"All the same I had a very good mare once that was sickle-hocked," she said.
Dodo Wonders | E. F. Benson

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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