as in penitentiaries
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 pawns
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
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.
Recent Examples of hocks
Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 23 May 2026
Noun
Southern field peas and smoky ham hocks go together like Johnny and June.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 23 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hocks
Noun
-
Behind bars in state penitentiaries in Gatesville and Marlin, Mejia felt forgotten.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The wave of prison violence is happening despite the deployment of military and police forces in several penitentiaries.—
Michael Rios,
CNN Money,
8 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Each of them was taken to Kentucky jails for detention, but the government separated them and held them in different facilities.—
Gregory Royal Pratt,
Chicago Tribune,
29 May 2026
-
To address custody deaths in Los Angeles County jails, Bornman wants to increase staffing and drug searches and look at contracting with outside hospitals and treatment centers for ill and addicted people in jail.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
After a storm, the ocean deposits fresh treasures along the shoreline, and during a full moon, stronger currents and lower tides can reveal hidden shells that were once out of reach.—
Gabi De la Rosa,
Southern Living,
17 May 2026
-
The Interceptor sucks in trash and deposits it in large bins that, once full, are shipped off for appropriate disposal—and in an interesting twist, an afterlife as material for new car production.—
Scotty Reiss,
Forbes.com,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Dees was one of hundreds of men being housed out of state in private prisons.—
Alex Brizee,
Idaho Statesman,
29 May 2026
-
Colorado voters passed Amendment A, a ballot measure touted as an end to slavery in state prisons in 2018.—
Julia Bowling,
The Conversation,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Those are the players in recent memory who’ve commanded the kind of draft capital that reshapes franchises — the sort of seismic move that mortgages a future and, in return, attaches expectations normally reserved for franchise-carrying superstars.—
Kristian Winfield,
Hartford Courant,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Lindsey Hodgson checking up on the new calves kept in different pens depending age.—
Omer Awan,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
Twila Byars pens heartfelt tribute to late stepbrother, Alaskan Bush People star Matt Brown.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
His gums are bleeding, his joints ache and his teeth are loosening from their sockets.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
As of now, there is unfortunately not much information disclosed about the design or any technical details of the reversible joints.—
Maryna Holovnova,
New Atlas,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hocks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hocks. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
