noun

hock

hok

noun

The joint on the hind leg of an animal such as a horse, dog, or pig, roughly equivalent to an ankle.

"The vet examined a swelling on the horse's hock."

A white wine from the Rhine region of Germany.

"They served a chilled glass of hock with dinner."

verb

To pawn an item as security for a loan.

"He hocked his watch to cover the rent."

How to Use Hock

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEither the ankle-like joint on an animal's hind leg, or (informally) to pawn something for cash.

Common pairings

hock a watch in hock

hocked past tense, hocked past tense, hocked past tense, hocks plural, hocks plural, hocks plural, hocks singular, hocks singular, hocks singular

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Can you complete this real example?

The vet examined a swelling on the horse's _____.

The "pawn" sense traces to a clipping of "hockamore", itself from German; the wine sense comes from Hochheim, a German wine-producing town.

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