as in jail
a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody
some lowlife who had been in and out of hock most of his adult life
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to pawn
to leave as a guarantee of repayment of a loan
the prince had to hock the family jewels to pay his gambling debts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hock
Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2026
Add chicken broth, potatoes, ham hocks, thyme, salt and pepper and simmer on low for about two hours, or until the ham is tender.
—Oc Register, 3 Jan. 2026
Spin Staff, SPIN, 9 Jan. 2025
Despite the league’s highest payroll and having already hocked any draft pick that wasn’t nailed down (some of them more than once), the Suns fell 15-18 on the season.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hock
Noun
Delicate Southern field peas pair perfectly with smoky ham hocks for an old-school veggie side.
—Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 15 Mar. 2026
Add chicken broth, potatoes, ham hocks, thyme, salt and pepper and simmer on low for about two hours, or until the ham is tender.
—Oc Register, 3 Jan. 2026
Verb
Bandcamp’s cut is 15% on digital sales and 10% when hocking physical stuff (t-shirts, vinyl, CDs, cassettes, etc).
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 9 Jan. 2025
Despite the league’s highest payroll and having already hocked any draft pick that wasn’t nailed down (some of them more than once), the Suns fell 15-18 on the season.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hock
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hock
Noun
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Captain has been released from jail after a judge set bail at $250,000, and he is set to enter a plea on April 9, court records show.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
6 Apr. 2026
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Housing would be freed up by deporting some people and putting others in jail.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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After being blackballed from the finance sector, Coop resorts to burglarizing the homes of those in his social circle and pawning the items to stay afloat.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
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Burglarizing the homes of those in his social circle and pawning the items just to stay afloat.—
Ryan Brennan
April 1,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The government opened the federal penitentiary on Alcatraz in 1934, hoping to use the remote island to house particularly difficult prisoners, according to the National Park Service.—
Justine McDaniel,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Apr. 2026
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But Wood’s penitentiary is considerably sturdier.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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SimpleImages / Getty Images In a conventional savings or investing climate, depositing a large sum into a long-term certificate of deposit (CD) isn't often the best choice for savers.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Lawn mowing season is coming, which means that trash that is not picked up and plastic netting will be cut into smaller plastic pieces to be deposited in Naperville soil for thousands of years.—
Naperville Sun,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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On that same day, nearly 300 people were sent to the prison in El Salvador from the same Texas detention center, according to the American Immigration Council.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
6 Apr. 2026
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Sacramento’s smallest zoo Alali now lives in Natomas with her fiancé, Alex Saraceno, along with Merlin; a girl group of rats named Monica, Moira and Amy; a former prison pigeon named Al Capone; a bearded dragon named Muffy; and a dog named Maverick.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hock.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hock. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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