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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

hock.

A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still, from the Hochheim region; often applied to all Rhenish wines.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/hɒk/UK/hɑk/US
  1. A Rhenish wine, of a light yellow color, either sparkling or still, from the Hochheim region; often applied to all Rhenish wines.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Clipping of hockamore, from German.

noun
  1. The tarsal joint of a digitigrade quadruped, such as a horse, pig or dog.

    countable
  2. Meat from that part of a food animal.

    countable · uncountable
  3. The hollow behind the knee.

    countable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English hough, hoche, hokke, from Old English hōh, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄h, from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kenk-. See also West Frisian hakke, Dutch hak, German Low German Hacke, Hack (“heel”); also Lithuanian ki̇̀nka (“leg, thigh, knee-cap”), kenklė̃ (“knee-cap”), Sanskrit कङ्काल (kaṅkāla, “skeleton”).

verb
  1. To disable by cutting the tendons of the hock; to hamstring; to hough.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English hough, hoche, hokke, from Old English hōh, from Proto-West Germanic *hą̄h, from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz, from Proto-Indo-European *kenk-. See also West Frisian hakke, Dutch hak, German Low German Hacke, Hack (“heel”); also Lithuanian ki̇̀nka (“leg, thigh, knee-cap”), kenklė̃ (“knee-cap”), Sanskrit कङ्काल (kaṅkāla, “skeleton”).

verb
  1. To leave with a pawnbroker as security for a loan.

    colloquial · transitive
Where this word comes from

From the phrase in hock, circa 1855-60, from Dutch hok (“hutch, hovel, jail, pen, doghouse”). Compare also Middle English hukken (“to sell; peddle; sell at auction”), see huck.

noun
  1. Pawn, obligation as collateral for a loan.

    informal · uncountable
    He needed $750 to get his guitar out of hock at the pawnshop.
  2. Debt.

    informal · uncountable
    They were in hock to the bank for $35 million.
  3. Installment purchase.

    informal · uncountable
  4. Prison.

    informal · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From the phrase in hock, circa 1855-60, from Dutch hok (“hutch, hovel, jail, pen, doghouse”). Compare also Middle English hukken (“to sell; peddle; sell at auction”), see huck.

verb
  1. To bother; to pester; to annoy incessantly.

    US · informal
Where this word comes from

From Yiddish האַק (hak), imperative singular form of האַקן (hakn, “to knock”), from the idiomatic expression האַק מיר נישט קיין טשײַניק (hak mir nisht keyn tshaynik, “don't knock a teakettle at me”).

noun
  1. The last card turned up in the game of faro.

    informal
verb
  1. Alternative form of hawk (“cough, clear one's throat of phlegm”).

    alt-of · alternative · informal
Where this word comes from

Probably imitative (a variant form of hawk (“cough”)), like hack (“cough”), although see that entry for more.

noun
  1. Alternative form of hawk (“cough”).

    alt-of · alternative · informal
Where this word comes from

Probably imitative (a variant form of hawk (“cough”)), like hack (“cough”), although see that entry for more.

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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.