# cock

Pronunciation: say "KOK" US /kɑk/, UK /kɒk/

## Noun

1. A vulgar word for the penis. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A very rude word for a penis.
   - _Some idiot had spray-painted a giant cock on the side of the bus shelter._
   - _The comedian's whole set was jokes about his cock and his divorce._
2. A male bird, especially an adult male domestic chicken; a rooster.
   - Simple: A male bird, especially a male chicken, also called a rooster.
   - _Every morning the cock on the neighboring farm crows long before sunrise._
   - _The breeder kept one cock and a dozen hens in the pen behind the barn._
5. A valve or tap that controls the flow through a pipe in a plumbing system.
   - Simple: A tap or valve that you turn to let water or gas flow or stop.
   - _Open the cock at the bottom of the tank to let the old water drain out._
   - _The plumber replaced the leaking cock on the main gas line._
7. A person regarded as stupid, obnoxious or contemptible. *(slang, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: A rude word for a stupid or very annoying person.
   - _Some cock in a BMW cut me up on the motorway and then had the nerve to beep at me._
   - _Don't be a cock. Give him his phone back._
9. A man or fellow, used especially as a familiar form of address. *(slang, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: A word for a man, often used to greet a male friend.
   - _Cheers, cock, I owe you one._
   - _He's a decent old cock, always ready to buy you a pint._
10. The hammer in the trigger mechanism of a firearm.
   - Simple: The hammer of a gun, the part pulled back before firing.
   - _He eased the cock forward with his thumb so the pistol would not go off._
   - _On older muskets the cock held a piece of flint that struck sparks into the pan._
11. A weather vane shaped like a rooster; a weathercock.
   - Simple: A weather vane in the shape of a rooster, which turns to show the wind.
   - _The gilded cock on the church steeple swung around to face the north wind._
   - _From the barn roof, the rusty cock showed that the wind had shifted to the east._
12. A small, cone-shaped pile of hay or grass.
   - Simple: A small pile of hay or grass shaped like a cone.
   - _After mowing, the crew raked the hay into cocks to dry._
   - _A single cock of grass was still standing at the edge of the meadow._
13. An upward turn, tilt or angle, as of a hat, the head or an eye, often a boastful or knowing one.
   - Simple: The way something is turned up or tilted to one side, like a hat or a head.
   - _You could tell from the cock of his hat that he thought he had won the argument._
   - _With a slight cock of her head, the teacher waited for a better answer._
14. Nonsense or rubbish. *(slang, Commonwealth, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: Silly talk that is not true.
   - _That story about the haunted pub is a load of cock, and you know it._
   - _He talks a lot of cock about his time in the army._
15. A shuttlecock, the light object hit back and forth over the net in badminton. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A shuttlecock, the small object players hit over the net in badminton.
   - _His smash drove the cock straight into the floor on her side of the net._
   - _The badminton club burns through a tube of feather cocks every evening._
16. A male salmon, trout, or other fish.
   - Simple: A male fish, most often a salmon or a trout.
   - _As spawning nears, the cock develops a hooked lower jaw and guards the hen on the gravel._
   - _During the salmon run, the cocks turn dark red and fight over the best spawning gravel._

## Verb

3. To tilt or turn something, such as the head, an eye, an ear, or a hat, upward or to one side, often in a knowing, mocking, or jaunty way.
   - Simple: To tilt your head, eye, or hat up or to one side, often to look clever or doubtful.
   - _He cocked his hat over one eye and strolled into the party as if he owned the place._
   - _Puzzled dogs often cock their heads to one side when you talk to them._
4. To raise the hammer of a gun, or set the mechanism of a crossbow, so that it is ready to fire; of a gun, to be made ready in this way.
   - Simple: To get a gun or crossbow ready to fire, for example by pulling back the gun's hammer.
   - _The hunter cocked his rifle and waited for the deer to step into the clearing._
   - _In old westerns the gunfighters cock and fire in a single smooth motion._
19. To form something, especially hay, into piles.
   - Simple: To put something, such as cut hay, into piles.
   - _The crew cocked the hay before the evening rain arrived._
   - _Once the grass is dry, we cock it so the dew won't soak it overnight._

## Interjection

18. Used as an exclamation of annoyance, typically when something has gone wrong. *(slang, Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: Something you say when you are annoyed.
   - _Cock! I've left my wallet on the train._
   - _Oh, cock! The printer's jammed again._

## Noun

6. A person who is chief among others; a leader or master. *(dated)*
   - Simple: The person who leads a group or is the boss of it.
   - _Old Harris was cock of the docks, and no crew moved a crate without his say-so._
   - _From his first day, the new manager strutted around as if he were cock of the walk._
8. The crowing of a rooster, especially its first crow early in the morning. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: The sound a rooster makes, especially the first time it crows in the morning.
   - _The knights kept their vigil in the chapel until first cock._
   - _The travelers were already on the road at first cock, before the sun was up._

## Verb

17. To strut or swagger, putting on a big, pert, or menacing air. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To walk in a proud way and try to look big, bold, or scary.

## Proper noun

20. An altered form of the word God, used in oaths. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A changed form of the word God that people once used when swearing an oath.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To have sex with someone; by extension, to spoil, damage or ruin something.
- (noun) The vulva or the vagina.
- (noun) The bridge piece in a clock or watch that provides a bearing for the pivot of the balance.
- (noun) Abbreviation of cock-boat, a type of small boat.
- (noun) In curling, the circle at the end of the rink.
- (noun) The gnomon of a sundial: the raised piece whose shadow falls across the hour lines.
- (noun) The pointer on a balance that shows when the beam is level.
- (verb) To pamper a child too much, so that it becomes spoiled.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–11, 13–18** — Proto-Germanic *kukkaz ("cock"), probably an imitation of the bird's call (onomatopoeic), passed into Proto-West Germanic as *kokk, then into Old English as coc or cocc ("cock, male bird") and Middle English as cok. Old French coc, of the same origin, reinforced it, and Middle Dutch cocke and Old Norse kokkr are relatives. The meaning "penis" is recorded from at least the 1610s, and the compound pillicock ("penis") from 1325.
**Meanings 12, 19** — From Middle English cokke, cock, cok, probably from Old English *cocc (“heap, pile”, found in place names), though a Scandinavian source is also possible. Compare Norwegian kok (“heap, lump”), Swedish koka (“a lump of earth”) and dialectal German Kocke (“heap of hay, dunghill”).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cock (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).