necking
Americannoun
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Informal. kissing, caressing, and other sexual activity between partners that does not involve stimulation of the genitals or sexual intercourse.
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Architecture.
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a molding or group of moldings between the projecting part of a capital of a column and the shaft.
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noun
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informal the activity of kissing and embracing passionately
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Also called: gorgerin. architect one or more mouldings at the top of a column between the shaft and the capital
Etymology
Origin of necking
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After widespread volcanic activity about 4 million years ago, the onset of necking caused the land in the rift to sink.
From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2026
"I can imagine the rubber necking that is going to happen."
From BBC • Aug. 2, 2023
Daniel juggles two simultaneous dinner dates in a restaurant while dressed as both himself and Mrs Doubtfire, running between two tables and necking cocktails.
From The Guardian • May 13, 2020
Instead of dancing and necking and maybe even performing for the hippies in Haight-Ashbury, Elvis Presley had spent an endless seven years in Southern California, forsaking his music career for one on the silver screen.
From Washington Post • Aug. 15, 2018
Who wouldn’t be appalled to find her brother and his girlfriend necking in her brand-new house, in the prize bathroom of all places?
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.