dock1
n.
- an enclosed area of water in a port for the loading, unloading, and repair of ships.
▸N. Amer. a jetty or pier where a ship may moor.
-
(also loading dock)
a platform for loading trucks or goods trains.
v.
- (with reference to a ship) come or bring into a dock.
- (of a spacecraft) join with a space station or another spacecraft in space.
- attach (a piece of equipment) to another.
Phrase
- in dock
Brit. informal out of action; indisposed.
Etymology
ME: from MDu., Mid. Low Ger. docke, of unknown origin.
dock2
n.
the enclosure in a criminal court where a defendant stands or sits.
Etymology
C16: prob. orig. sl. and rel. to Flemish dok ‘chicken coop, rabbit hutch’.
dock3
n.
a coarse weed of temperate regions, with inconspicuous greenish or reddish flowers, and leaves that are used to relieve nettle stings.
[Genus
Rumex.]
Etymology
OE docce, of Gmc origin.
dock4
v.
- deduct (money or a point in a game).
- cut short (an animal's tail).
n.
the solid bony or fleshy part of an animal's tail.
▸the stump left after a tail has been docked.
Etymology
ME (orig. in sense ‘solid part of an animal's tail’): perh. rel. to Frisian dok ‘bunch, ball (of string)’ and Ger. Docke ‘doll’.
