pock

American  

[pok] / pɒk /

noun

1. a pustule on the body in an eruptive disease, as smallpox.

2. a mark or spot left by or resembling such a pustule.

3. a small indentation, pit, hole, or the like.

4. Scot. poke.

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pock British  

/ pɒk /

noun

1. any pustule resulting from an eruptive disease, esp from smallpox

2. another word for pockmark

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Other Word Forms

• pocky adjective

Etymology

Origin of pock

before 1000; Middle English pokke, Old English poc; cognate with German Pocke; perhaps akin to Old English pocca. See poke ²

Example Sentences

Her father could no longer work in the coal mines that pock the mountains here after an injury.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Tens of thousands of craters larger than 10 kilometers pock the Moon, but the researchers also figured the collision had to be relatively recent and the resulting crater particularly young.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 19, 2024

Hundreds of craters pock the fields all around.

From New York Times • May 12, 2022

And not just at some mowed field surrounded by tall grass and sprinkled with lots of sandy pock marks.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 14, 2015

“Yes. As a matter of fact I do,” she says, pointing at a pock.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen