cog1
/kɒɡ
/noun
1A wheel or bar with a series of projections on its edge, which transfers motion by engaging with projections on another wheel or bar: the cogs and springs of a watch...
- It is up to him to sacrifice himself, no longer the hub of Arsenal's wheel, but a cog in the machine.
- Your thumb pushes the lever forward to achieve a lower gear (a bigger cog / smaller chainring).
- This sort of regulation has induced stereotyped thinking in most officers, who themselves became cogs in the mechanically streamlined military machine.
1.1Each of the projections on a cog: applewood was the favourite material for the cogs or teeth of a cogwheel...
- ‘We're obviously proud every time Germany wins and like to think we're making a small contribution as small cogs in the big wheel,’ he said.
- ‘What we are doing won't change the world but it's a small cog in a big wheel,’ he explained.
- Is it really the duty of a minor cog in a big wheel to take a stand and risk the consequences?
Phrases
a cog in the (or a) machine (or wheel)
Derivatives
cogged
- Engines had a cogged pinion wheel that engaged the rack, helping them climb the slopes.
- The number one solution to the problem is to give the odd number of cogged wheels a half-twist, thus reversing the parity of the system and allowing all of the gears to turn.
- Any closed-circle arrangements of interlocked cogged wheels must have an even number of wheels, if it is to operate.
Origin
Middle English: probably of Scandinavian origin and related to Swedish kugge and Norwegian kug.
Rhymes
cog2
/kɒɡ/noun
A broadly built medieval ship with a rounded prow and stern.The cog was a broadly built ship, with a roundish prow and stern, more manœuvrable than the old kind and specifically designed for carrying freight....
- These had rounded hulls and strakes gathered into the upper end of the latter and not, as in a cog, ending at the stem and stern posts.
- The poor state of the roads meant a considerable amount of river and coastal traffic, mainly in barges or cogs.
Origin
Middle English: related to Middle Dutch kogge, Old French cogue.
cog3
/kɒɡ/verb [with object] Irish informal
Copy (someone else’s work) illicitly or without acknowledgement: he’s away cogging his homework from Aggie’s wee girl...
- I should mention, I suppose, that I cogged the photos off the film site.
- What I do remember, though, is that someone came up to me a few days later and said that I had cogged the ideas from another columnist.
- Still, you have to start somewhere, so if you happen to be stuck for words, who do you cog?
Origin
Mid 16th century (in senses 'practise tricks in throwing dice' and 'cheat'): of unknown origin.