A cock is a male chicken, or generally the male of any bird. You might not hear this so often because, as a slang term, cock means ‘penis,’ and this is why most people in the US say rooster and most people in the UK say cockerel (strictly speaking, a young cock) instead of cock. As a verb, if you cock a gun it means that you draw back the hammer before firing it and if you cock a joint or a limb, that means you bend it. Cock also means ‘to make something stand erect.’
Example sentences
- The cock strutted around the farmyard.
- As a teenager, Adrian used to measure his cock every day.
- The marksman cocked his gun.
- Wendy held the racket with her wrist cocked back.
- The dog cocked her ears when she heard her owner's footsteps.
Words often used with cock
cock a snook (mostly UK): thumb your nose, show contempt, disdain. Example: “This artist cocks a snook at traditional techniques.”
cock of the walk: the leader, the person with undisputed supremacy within a group. Example: “Steve was so cool at school; he was always cock of the walk.”
cock and bull story (mostly UK): a tall tale. Example: “The dog ate your homework? That sounds like a cock and bull story to me!”
cock-a-hoop (UK): elated. Example: “Karen graduated top of her class; as you can imagine, she’s absolutely cock-a-hoop.”
cockeyed: literally, this means someone is cross-eyed or has a squint. It is used figuratively to mean something is not straight. Example: “That picture’s cockeyed; straighten it up, will you.” It is also used figuratively to mean something is foolish or wrong. Example: “There’s no way I’m going to go along with a cockeyed scheme like that!”
half-cocked: hasty or haphazard, or hastily or haphazardy. Example: “John’s always coming up with half-cocked ideas to make easy money, but he usually ends up worse off than he started.”
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