cock

noun

/kɒk/

/kɑːk/

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(British English)
(also rooster North American English, British English)
[countable] an adult male chicken
- The cock crowed.
- The market traders cried out like barnyard cocks.
compare henTopics Birdsc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- fighting
cock + verb
- crow
cock + noun
- fight
- fighting
See full entry
[countable] (especially in compounds) a male of any other bird
- a cock pheasant
see also peacockTopics Birdsc2
[countable] (taboo, slang) a penis
[countable]
(also stopcock)
a tap that controls the flow of liquid or gas through a pipe see also ballcock
[singular] (British English, old-fashioned, slang) used as a friendly form of address between men

verb

/kɒk/

/kɑːk/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they cock	/kɒk/ /kɑːk/
he / she / it cocks	/kɒks/ /kɑːks/
past simple cocked	/kɒkt/ /kɑːkt/
past participle cocked	/kɒkt/ /kɑːkt/
-ing form cocking	/ˈkɒkɪŋ/ /ˈkɑːkɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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cock something to raise a part of your body so that it is pointing upwards or at an angle
- The dog cocked its leg by every tree on our route (= in order to urinate).
- He cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at her.
- She cocked her head to one side and looked at me.
- The dog stood listening, its ears cocked.
cock a gun/pistol/rifle to raise the hammer on a gun so that it is ready to fire

Word OriginOld English cocc, from medieval Latin coccus; reinforced in Middle English by Old French coq.

Idioms

cock an ear/eye at something/somebody

to look at or listen to something/somebody carefully and with a lot of attention

cock a snook at somebody/something

(British English) to say or do something that clearly shows you do not respect somebody/something
- to cock a snook at authority