pock

1 of 2

noun

ˈpäk 

: a pustule in an eruptive disease (such as smallpox)

also : a spot suggesting such a pustule

pock

2 of 2

verb

pocked; pocking; pocks

transitive verb

: to mark with or as if with pocks : pit

Synonyms

Noun

• boil
• fester
• hickey
• papule
• pimple
• pustule
• whelk
• zit [slang]

Examples of pock in a Sentence

Noun

noticed strange pocks on his torso

Verb

one of the many craters that pock the moon's surface

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

They were riddled with lesions, pock marks and holes. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 9 Feb. 2024

Barks, not the pock of tennis balls, were heard across the sunny, 40-acre (16-hectare) grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. —Jennifer Peltz, ajc, 6 May 2023

Verb

That stitching and material continued onto the doors, which were well-appointed and cushioned on the top near the window and below on the edge of the shallow door pocked that was closest to my leg. —Stephan Pechdimaldji, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024

The Atacama, in northern Chile, is one of the driest and least populated places on Earth, but the metals industry is changing the terrain, with access roads creeping across pristine salt flats and the water-intensive extraction process leaving the ground pocked and scarred. —Amit Katwala, WIRED, 27 Oct. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English pokke, from Old English pocc; akin to Middle Low German & Middle Dutch pocke pock

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1841, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

pock

noun

ˈpäk

: a small swelling on the skin like a pimple (as in chicken pox or smallpox)

also : the scar it leaves

Medical Definition

pock

noun

ˈpäk 

: a pustule in an eruptive disease (as smallpox)