cocking

verb

present participle of cock
as in tilting
to set or cause to be at an angle cocked his head to the side as he listened to her quizzically

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cocking
  1. tilting
  2. sloping
  3. leaning
  4. angling
Verb
  • As the seasons change and the Northern Hemisphere starts tilting away from the sun, the northern latitudes lose daylight much faster than southern latitudes.
    — Zoe Mintz, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • This six-seat configuration allows drivers to keep car seats for young children undisturbed since additional passengers can access the third row without tilting the second down.
    — Charles Singh, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of tilting
Verb
  • Retaining Walls If your sloping backyard is over 45 degrees, adding retaining walls is almost necessary to prevent the soil from washing away.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Cut at a 45-degree angle, sloping down toward the center of the rosebush.
    — Andrea Beck, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of sloping
Verb
  • In 2010, for instance, the left-leaning blog Daily Kos said that polling for its website, conducted by a firm called Research 2000, was fraudulent.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
  • At the most recent ceremony, two K-pop-leaning tunes were up for the trophy.
    — Hugh McIntyre, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of leaning
Verb
  • The trio began angling to turn the crazy tale into a documentary.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 2026
  • But what’s been clear through one week of camp is that the players angling for extensions have made strong early impressions.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of angling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

cockiness
cocking
cocking a snook (at)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cocking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cocking. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on cocking

Nglish: Translation of cocking for Spanish Speakers

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