dock

1 of 6

noun (1)

ˈdäk 

plural docks

1

a

: a place (such as a wharf or platform) for the loading or unloading of materials

b

: a usually wooden pier used as a landing place or moorage for boats

2

or docking station : a device in which a smartphone, digital camera, etc., is placed for charging, accessing a power supply, or connecting to another electronic device

3

: a usually artificial basin or enclosure for the reception of ships that is equipped with means for controlling the water height

4

: slip entry 2 sense 1b

5

: the combining site of a molecular receptor see receptor sense b

Previous research showed that marijuana receptors, specialized proteins that serve as docks for THC, are clustered in regions of the brain known to play a role in movement disorders such as Huntington's disease.

—Kathleen Fackelmann

dock

2 of 6

verb (1)

docked; docking; docks

transitive verb

1

: to haul or guide into or alongside a dock

2

: to connect an electronic device (such as a computer or a digital camera) to another device

dock the phone into the computer

3

: to join (two spacecraft) mechanically while in space

intransitive verb

1

: to come into or alongside a dock

2

: to become docked

3

: to combine with a molecular receptor see receptor sense b

These chemical messengers travel across a tiny cleft and dock at receptors along the surface of a muscle fiber.

—Bruce A. Dobkin

dock

3 of 6

verb (2)

docked; docking; docks

transitive verb

1

a

: to subject to a deduction

dock someone's wages

b

: to penalize by depriving of a benefit ordinarily due

especially : to fine by a deduction of wages

docked him for tardiness

c

: to take away a part of : abridge

2

a

: to cut (part of an animal, such as the ears or a tail) short

b

: to cut off the end of a body part of

specifically : to remove part of the tail of

dock

4 of 6

noun (2)

1

: the part of an animal's tail left after it has been shortened

2

: the solid part of an animal's tail as distinguished from the hair

dock

5 of 6

noun (3)

: the place in a criminal court where a prisoner stands or sits during trial

dock

6 of 6

noun (4)

1

: any of a genus (Rumex) of coarse weedy plants of the buckwheat family having long taproots and sometimes used as potherbs

2

: any of several usually broad-leaved weedy plants (as of the genus Silphium)

Phrases

in the dock

: on trial

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• float
• jetty
• landing
• levee
• pier
• quai
• quay
• wharf

Verb (1)

• anchor
• land

Verb (2)

• abbreviate
• abridge
• curtail
• cut back
• elide
• shorten
• syncopate
• truncate

Examples of dock in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Alabama correctional health contractor also serves the jail system in Pima County, Ariz. Officials there docked NaphCare more than $3 million for failing to meet a slew of terms and conditions in its contract with the region surrounding the city of Tucson, according to local news reports. —Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2024

Mann also helped save a load of supplies when the USS Sally Ride, their resupply ship, had a minor mishap while docking. —The Arizona Republic, 29 Mar. 2024

The container ship suffered damage and was docked for repairs, but no one was injured in the collision, according to The New York Times. —Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024

The chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions is calling for the legislative branch to pick up an issue dropped nearly 70 years ago: changing the workweek to 32 hours without docking employee pay, or in other words, a four-day week. —Chloe Berger, Fortune, 14 Mar. 2024

The structure, which is still docked in its original location, has three stories, with bedrooms built into the foundation. —Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

The 387-foot-long vessel, which comes with a helipad and a $30 million companion boat, was seen docked this week at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with its unique chrome finish reflecting in the sun. —Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024

The ship will dock with the gas depot, fuel up, and head off toward the moon. —Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 14 Mar. 2024

Large ships will dock at the pier and offload their cargo to smaller vessels, which would ferry shipments to the causeway and from there into Gaza. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2024

Noun

Since then, the ballclub and the stadium district have responded to FM Global's concerns by doing such things as providing proof of backflow prevention gates on storm sewer lines; installing an additional backflow gate, and providing a detailed flood risk analysis for the loading docks. —Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2024

Today the ship docks at Royal Caribbean’s own Bahamian island, the Perfect Day at CocoCay. —Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024

Although mostly rocky and sometimes with rough conditions, the small beach has a dock for swimmers or snorkelers to launch themselves into the bright turquoise sea. —Kathleen Wong, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2024

From ancient Mediterranean islands to the Titanic to longshoremen on the Brooklyn docks, CNN looked into some of the historic cases that may become relevant as the ramifications of this deadly and costly crash come to light. —Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 31 Mar. 2024

The Navy released photos Tuesday of the amphibious transport dock USS Somerset sailing with Indian vessels in the Indian Ocean as part of Tiger TRIUMPH, a drill that focuses on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. —Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Mar. 2024

So the equipment came to the loading dock in October, and it was assembled into a computer and then tested in record time. —IEEE Spectrum, 20 Mar. 2024

Bites can come anywhere, from under shallow docks to on the bottom in deep water. —Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 14 Mar. 2024

The listed house—a four bedroom, two bathroom with 1,950 square feet—was built in 1904 and comes with a small cottage towards the back of the property, a fireplace, and a private waterfront dock. —Sunny Nagpaul, Fortune, 22 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English dokke, probably from Middle Dutch docke

Noun (2)

Middle English dok, perhaps from Old English -docca (as in fingirdocca finger muscle); akin to Old High German tocka doll, Old Norse dokka bundle

Noun (3)

Dutch dialect (Flanders) docke cage

Noun (4)

Middle English, from Old English docce; akin to Middle Dutch docke dock

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Verb (1)

1600, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2b

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun (3)

1586, in the meaning defined above

Noun (4)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing dock

• dry dock
• floating dock
• graving dock
• in the dock
• loading dock

Kids Definition

dock

1 of 5 noun

ˈdäk 

: any of a genus of coarse weedy plants which are related to the buckwheat and some of which are cooked for food

dock

2 of 5 verb

1

: to cut off the end of : cut short

a docked tail

2

: to take away a part of : make a deduction from

3

: to deprive of something due because of a fault

was docked for being late

dock

3 of 5 noun

1

: a usually artificial basin to receive ships that has gates to control the water height

2

: slip entry 2 sense 1b

3

: a wharf or platform for loading and unloading

4

: a usually wooden pier used as a landing place or moorage

dock

4 of 5 verb

1

: to bring or come into or alongside a dock

2

: to join (as two spacecraft) mechanically while in space

dock

5 of 5 noun

: the place in a court where a prisoner stands or sits during trial

Etymology

Noun

Old English docce "the dock plant"

Verb

Middle English docken "to cut off the end of a tail," from dok, docke "end of an animal's tail"

Noun

probably from early Dutch docke "ditch, dock"

Noun

from a Dutch dialect word docke "cage"

Medical Definition

dock

1 of 2 noun

ˈdäk 

: any plant of the genus Rumex

dock

2 of 2 intransitive verb

: to combine with a molecular receptor

the AIDS virus docked at the T cell receptor

Legal Definition

dock

noun

: the place in a criminal court where a prisoner stands or sits during trial compare bar, bench, jury box, sidebar, stand

Etymology

Noun

Dutch dialect docke, dok pen, cage