# cocking

Pronunciation: say "KOK-ing" US /ˈkɑkɪŋ/, UK /ˈkɒkɪŋ/

## Verb

1. Present participle and gerund of cock. — present participle and gerund of cock
   - Simple: Present participle and gerund of cock. Use it after am, is, are, was or were, or to name the action.
   - _Cocking the hammer of an old revolver takes a firm thumb._
   - _She stood by the mirror, cocking her hat at a jaunty angle before the party._

## Adjective

2. Offensive or worthless, used as a vulgar curse in front of a noun.
   - Simple: A very rude word for something nasty or useless.
   - _Get that cocking dog off my lawn before it digs up the flower beds._
   - _The cocking machine swallowed my last five dollars and gave me nothing._

## Noun

3. The sport of cockfighting, or a single gathering held for it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The sport of making roosters fight, or one meeting held for that sport.
   - _Gamblers rode in from three counties to bet on the cocking at the fairground._
   - _The magistrate tried to ban cockings, but the farmers kept holding them in out-of-the-way barns._

## Origin

From cock, a male bird and especially a rooster, a word with many derived senses, + -ing, the ending that forms participles.

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