clock.
A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day.
Meaning & usage
A chronometer, an instrument that measures time, particularly the time of day.
When the clock says midnight.
A common noun relating to an instrument that measures or keeps track of time.
A 12-hour clock system; an antique clock sale; Acme is a clock manufacturer.
The odometer of a motor vehicle.
This car has over 300,000 miles on the clock.
An electrical signal that synchronizes timing among digital circuits of semiconductor chips or modules.
The seed head of a dandelion.
A time clock.
I can't go off to lunch yet: I'm still on the clock.
We let the guys use the shop's tools and equipment for their own projects as long as they're off the clock.
A CPU clock cycle, or T-state.
A luck-based patience or solitaire card game with the cards laid out to represent the face of a clock.
A watch (timepiece).
A face; the head.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *klokkosder. Early Medieval Latin cloccader. Old Northern French cloquebor. Old Dutch *klokka Middle Dutch clockebor. Middle English clokke English clock First use appears c. 1370. From Middle English clokke, clok, cloke (“clock”), from Middle Dutch clocke (“bell, clock”), from Old Dutch *klokka, from Medieval Latin clocca (“bell, clock, cloak”), probably of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos (“bell”) (compare Welsh cloch (“bell”), Old Irish cloc (“bell, clock”)), either onomatopoeic or from Proto-Indo-European *klek- (“to laugh, cackle”) (compare Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną (“to laugh”)). Cognate with Old English clucge (“bell”), Saterland Frisian Klokke (“bell, clock”), Dutch klok (“clock, bell”), Low German Klock (“bell, clock”), German Glocke (“bell”), Danish and Norwegian klokke (“clock, bell”), Faroese klokka (“clock, bell”), Icelandic klukka (“clock, bell”), Swedish klocka (“clock, bell”), Asturian llueca (“cowbell”), Galician and Portuguese choca (“cowbell”), Doublet of cloak and cloche.
To measure the duration of.
To measure the speed of.
He was clocked at 155 miles per hour.
To hit (someone) heavily.
When the boxer let down his guard, his opponent clocked him.
To notice; to take notice of (someone or something).
Clock the wheels on that car!
To recognize; to assess, register.
I'd already clocked her as someone who couldn't reliably be believed when she spoke. And now this too!
To identify (someone) as having some attribute (for example, being trans or gay).
Once my transition was complete I considered moving to London, where I felt there was less chance of being clocked and a larger support network.
To falsify the reading of the odometer of a vehicle.
I don't believe that car has done only 40,000 miles. It's been clocked.
To beat a video game.
Have you clocked that game yet?
To expose or attack someone, typically in a targeted and insulting manner.
Did you hear what she said about my outfit? She kind of clocked me.
You clocked, that guy is always running his mouth.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Celtic *klokkosder. Early Medieval Latin cloccader. Old Northern French cloquebor. Old Dutch *klokka Middle Dutch clockebor. Middle English clokke English clock First use appears c. 1370. From Middle English clokke, clok, cloke (“clock”), from Middle Dutch clocke (“bell, clock”), from Old Dutch *klokka, from Medieval Latin clocca (“bell, clock, cloak”), probably of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *klokkos (“bell”) (compare Welsh cloch (“bell”), Old Irish cloc (“bell, clock”)), either onomatopoeic or from Proto-Indo-European *klek- (“to laugh, cackle”) (compare Proto-Germanic *hlahjaną (“to laugh”)). Cognate with Old English clucge (“bell”), Saterland Frisian Klokke (“bell, clock”), Dutch klok (“clock, bell”), Low German Klock (“bell, clock”), German Glocke (“bell”), Danish and Norwegian klokke (“clock, bell”), Faroese klokka (“clock, bell”), Icelandic klukka (“clock, bell”), Swedish klocka (“clock, bell”), Asturian llueca (“cowbell”), Galician and Portuguese choca (“cowbell”), Doublet of cloak and cloche.
A pattern near the heel of a sock or stocking.
Where this word comes from
Uncertain; designs may have originally been bell-shaped and thus related to Etymology 1, above.
To ornament (e.g. the side of a stocking) with figured work.
Where this word comes from
Uncertain; designs may have originally been bell-shaped and thus related to Etymology 1, above.
A large beetle, especially the European dung beetle (Geotrupes stercorarius).
To make the sound of a hen; to cluck.
To hatch.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English clokken, from Old English cloccian, ultimately imitative; compare Dutch klokken, English cluck.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.