clock

verb

clocked; clocking; clocks

transitive verb

1

a

: to time with a stopwatch or by an electric timing device

b

: to be timed at

2

: to register on a mechanical recording device

wind velocities were clocked at 80 miles per hour

3

: to hit hard

4

chiefly British : attain, realize

—usually used with up

… just clocked up a million … paperback sales?

—Punch

5

a

: to travel (a distance) over time

clocks more than 15,000 miles a year on business

b

: put in sense 3

clocking long hours at the office

intransitive verb

1

: to have a specified duration or speed

—used with in

the movie clocked in at just under 3 hours

broadly : to have a specified measure or value

—used with in

the meal clocked in at about $15

2

: to register on a time sheet or time clock : punch

—used with in, out, on, off

he clocked in late

clocker noun

Synonyms of clock

• knock
• punch
• slap
• smack
• hit
• bang
• strike
• clip
• clap
• slam
• whack
• pound
• bat
• box
• swipe
• crack
• kick

Examples of clock in a Sentence

He clocked 3 hours and 15 minutes in his last marathon.

His fastest pitch was clocked at 91 miles per hour.

The cop said she clocked me going 95 miles per hour.

I was so angry I wanted to clock him.

Recent Examples on the Web

The idea is to be joyously surrounded by music, not constantly clocking your journey like a fitness app. —John Wenzel, Denver Post, 4 June 2026

The Carl series specifically has clocked over 140 million listening hours on the app. —Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 4 June 2026

So of course a nation famed for its exacting culture and being the most visited in the world—clocking 102 million international tourists in 2025—has a very specific appellation system for its luxury hotels. —Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 June 2026

Cutwater, BuzzBallz, and BeatBox—three of the most popular brands—sell sweet, fruity flavors that clock in at 7 to 15 percent alcohol. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing clock

• against the clock
• alarm clock
• a race against the clock
• around-the-clock
• atomic clock
• banjo clock
• beat the clock
• biological clock
• body clock
• clean one's clock
• clock off/out
• clock radio
• clock up
• clock-watcher
• cuckoo clock
• eat up/run out/kill the clock
• grandfather clock
• internal clock
• kill the clock
• longcase clock
• round-the-clock
• run out the clock
• shot clock
• the clock
• time clock
• turn back the clock
• watch the clock
• water clock

Rhymes for clock

• balk
• baulk
• bloc
• bock
• broch
• brock
• calk
• caulk
• chalk
• chock
• cock
• croc

Kids Definition

clock

1 of 2 noun

ˈkläk 

1

: a device for measuring or telling the time and especially one not meant to be worn or carried about by a person

2

: a registering device with a dial that is attached to a machine to measure or record what it is doing

3

: a device (as in a computer) that sends out signals at regular spaces of time so that other events can happen in the correct order

clock

2 of 2 verb

1

: to time (as a person or a piece of work) by a timing device

2

: to show (as time or speed) on a recording device

winds clocked at 80 mph

3

: to hit hard

Etymology

Middle English clok "clock," from early Dutch clocke "bell, clock," from early French cloque "bell" or Latin clocca "bell"; of Celtic origin — related to cloak

Medical Definition

clock

noun

ˈkläk 

: biological clock