hock
/hɔk/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- The tarsal joint in the hind leg of a hoofed mammal: This is the anatomical joint analogous to the human ankle in animals such as horses, cattle, or deer.
- A type of white wine: A term, chiefly used in British English, for white wine from the Rhine region of Germany.
Verb:
- To pawn: To leave an item as security for a loan of money.
- To disable by cutting the hock: To hamstring an animal by cutting the tendons of the hock joint (an archaic or specialized usage).
Usage Examples
Noun (Anatomy):
- The veterinarian examined the horse's swollen hock.
- An injury to the hock can lame a cow.
Noun (Wine):
- He ordered a glass of hock with his meal.
- The wine list featured several fine German hocks.
Verb (To Pawn):
- He had to hock his watch to pay the rent.
- The necklace is in hock at the pawnshop.
Advanced Usage
- "In hock" (Idiomatic Phrase):
- Meaning: To be pawned; or, by extension, to be in debt or in a difficult situation.
- My guitar is in hock until I get my next paycheck.
- The company is deeply in hock to its creditors.
Variants and Related Words
- Hock shop (n, informal): A pawnshop.
- He took the camera to the hock shop.
- Hocks (n, plural): Can refer to the joints or, in cooking, the lower leg joints of certain animals (e.g., ham hocks).
- The recipe calls for smoked ham hocks.
Synonyms
- Verb (Pawn): Pledge, deposit, put in pawn.
- Noun (Joint): Tarsal joint.
- Noun (Wine): Rhine wine, Rhenish.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
- Hock off (v, informal): To sell or pawn something.
- He hocked off his old stereo system.
Related Idioms
- "In hock up to one's eyeballs/ears": To be extremely deep in debt.
- After starting the business, he was in hock up to his ears.
Noun
- tarsal joint of the hind leg of hoofed mammals; corresponds to the human ankle
- any of several white wines from the Rhine River valley in Germany (`hock' is British usage)
Verb
- disable by cutting the hock
- leave as a guarantee in return for money
- pawn your grandfather's gold watch