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

It was required this week, after Athletic won the Copa del Rey last Saturday, but the barge has been docked for so long — 40 years, in fact — that the club’s staff had to spend a decent portion of Sunday cleaning off the rust. —Rory Smith, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2024

At the end of his outburst, he was docked a point for the following game, which proved critical as Khachanov would hold onto his serve and the 6-3 7-5 victory, booking his spot in the quarterfinals. —Matias Grez, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024

The Dali, 984 feet long and 157 feet wide, had docked at the Port of Baltimore three days earlier. —William Wan, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024

The massive container ship named DALI has previously collided with infrastructure while docking, according to reports that show DALI collided with a stone wall at a dock in Antwerp, Belgium, in the afternoon of July 11, 2016. —Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024

On Wednesday, a ship with Volkswagens arrived and was able to dock like normal. —Camila Domonoske, NPR, 28 Mar. 2024

The vessel, known as the Dali, will be towed back into the harbor and docked for a damage assessment. —USA TODAY, 27 Mar. 2024

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

Noun

Developer’s timetable Arnold Family Corp. planned to renovate a public-access dock on its Mooresville site this year and begin work on the greenway, public open space and six-story building in 2026, Cole said. —Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2024

In the late 1970s Callery was worried about how a proposal to build coal docks on the Licking River could affect neighbors' health. —The Enquirer, 16 Apr. 2024

This one-bedroom lakefront cabin, for instance, is available via Airbnb and offers amenities like a mini-fridge, a wood stove, and a private dock on Moosehead Lake. —Erinne Magee, Travel + Leisure, 11 Apr. 2024

Others include $1 million into a Retiree Rainy Day Fund for active and retired employees, $250,000 for capital improvements in Eastern Market and Councilman Young II's push for $2.6 million to build a new Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority dock. —Detroit Free Press, 9 Apr. 2024

The pair announced the news on Instagram with photos of the proposal at a dock with a view of the water in St. Cloud, Florida, and the celebration with friends that ensued afterward. —Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024

There’s a large landscaped deck with a covered outdoor kitchen, large waterfront pool, spa, hot tub, fire pit, bamboo grove, cabana, and a 50-foot dock with 240 feet of waterfront. —Emma Reynolds, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

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

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