I. ˈdäk noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English dock, docke, from Old English docce; akin to Middle Dutch, Middle Low German, & Old Danish docke dock, Scottish Gaelic dogha burdock
1. : any of certain coarse weedy plants with long strong taproots that constitute the genus Rumex, that are sometimes used as table greens, and that have long been used in folk medicine — often used with a qualifying or descriptive adjective; see bitter dock , sour dock
2. : any of several usually broad-leaved weedy plants (as members of the genera Arctium, Petasites, Tussilago, or Malva )
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English dok, docke from Old English -docca (as in fingirdocca finger muscle); akin to Frisian dok bundle, ball, Old High German tocka doll, Old Norse dokka girl, bundle
1.
a. : the solid part of an animal's tail as distinguished from the hair : the part of a tail left after clipping the hair or cropping the end
b. : the part of the body of certain animals adjacent to the base of the tail:
(1) : rump
(2) : vulva
2. : a docking especially of wages ; also : the amount docked
III. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English docken, from dok, docke (end of tail)
1.
a. : to cut off the end of some body part of ; specifically : to remove part of the tail of (a horse or lamb)
docked lambs are cleaner and command a premium on the market
b. : to cut (as a tail) short
nobody'd dock his cattle's ears that close — H.L.Davis
the boxer's tail should be docked and ears cropped soon after birth
2. : to cut short: as
a. : to take away a part of : abridge , lessen , reduce
while it has been necessary … to dock some [of the writings] … nothing of crucial import has been omitted — W.B.Scott
if we grow absorbed in work … to the exclusion of … human elements, we dock and maim our lives — A.C.Benson
b. : to bring (an entail) to an end
c. : to subject (as wages) to a deduction ; often : to cheapen (market livestock) by assessing a deduction from weight or in price as a penalty for defects
3. : to deprive (as a person) of some benefit ordinarily due especially as a penalty for a fault
he was docked $10 for repeated tardiness
— often used with of
dock him of the small pleasures of childhood — Samuel Butler †1902
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: probably from Middle Dutch docke dock, ditch, from Latin ductio act of conducting — more at douche
1.
a. archaic : natural or artificial inlet or hollow in which a ship can be received : mooring , harbor
b. : a usually artificial basin or enclosure in connection with a harbor or river for the reception of ships and equipped with means for controlling the water height — see dry dock , floating dock , wet dock
c. : the waterway extending between two piers or projecting wharves or cut into the land for the reception of ships
d. : a series of slips and adjoining wharves, offices, and other buildings — often used in plural
2. : a place for the loading or unloading of materials (as from ships or carts) or for their storage: as
a. : wharf
b. : a raised platform used for loading or unloading wheeled freight carriers (as trucks or railway cars)
c. : an elevated platform where sawed lumber is stored at the sawmill until shipped ; also : dollyway
d. : the space usually under the floor of the stage in which scenery is stored in a theater
3.
a. : scaffolding enclosing and giving access to exterior parts of an aircraft
b. : a place or building equipped for the inspection and repair of aircraft ; broadly : hangar
Synonyms: see wharf
V. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to haul or guide (as a ship) into a dock (as for repairing, cleaning, or loading)
2. : to supply (as a port) with a dock
intransitive verb
: to come or go into dock
the ship docked here
VI. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Flemish docke, dok cage
: the place in court where a prisoner stands or sits
•
- in the dock
VII. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: origin unknown
: to perforate (as a cracker) before baking
VIII. transitive verb
: to join mechanically (as two spacecraft) while in space
intransitive verb
1. : to become docked
2. : to combine with a molecular receptor
the AIDS virus docked at the T-cell receptor