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
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
Kathleen Fackelmann
docked; docking; docks
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
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
Bruce A. Dobkin
docked; docking; docks
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
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
: the place in a criminal court where a prisoner stands or sits during trial
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)
Synonyms
Examples of dock in a Sentence
Noun (1)
the boat remained tied up at the dock for a week, waiting for the weather to clear
Verb (1)
the cruise ship docked at the first port of call early the next morning
Verb (2)
the editorial was docked by about a hundred words to make it fit on the page
the boxer's tail was docked soon after birth
Recent Examples on the WebMeredith Deliso, ABC News, 9 May 2024
On Saturday, May 4, MSC Cruises' MSC Meraviglia docked at the Port of Brooklyn, which is where the animal — identified as a mature female sei whale by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society — was discovered.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 9 May 2024
Crew members look off the deck of the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship docked at PortMiami, Tuesday, March 31, 2020, in Miami.
—CBS News, 8 May 2024
The spacecraft successfully docked with the I.S.S. during its second test flight in 2022, despite the failure of some thrusters during the launch.
—Joe Hernandez, NPR, 6 May 2024
While docked to the space station, the vehicle will be put through further tests, including practicing using it as a lifeboat in case astronauts needed to evacuate the ISS.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, WIRED, 6 May 2024
On Starliner’s first uncrewed test flight in 2019, a series of software and hardware failures prevented it from getting to its planned orbit as well as docking with the International Space Station.
—Discover Magazine, 3 May 2024
The cruise docked, and the party spent some time in Grand Turk before Wenrich was eventually detained when he was caught with two stray bullets in his bag while returning home.
—Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 27 Apr. 2024
The additional ships that will support the floating pier are en route to Gaza from Crete, Greece, where they had been docked after making a trans-Atlantic voyage to the eastern Mediterranean.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Rebecca San Juan, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
To this day, old docks, piers and caissons are all submerged along the shoreline.
—Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 2 May 2024
Lara, who could not be reached for comment, reportedly caught his perch from a dock at Hammond Marina on the shore of Lake Michigan in Lake County.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 May 2024
This may be a brush pile in 15 feet, the first rocky drop in 20 feet, or the base of a dock post in 10 feet of water.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 1 May 2024
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
Verb
The boat was docked at the Flying Fish Marina in Long Island, which regularly draws sharks thanks to the abundance of fish carcasses discarded by fishermen, Wakeman said.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 9 May 2024
On Saturday, May 4, MSC Cruises' MSC Meraviglia docked at the Port of Brooklyn, which is where the animal — identified as a mature female sei whale by the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society — was discovered.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 9 May 2024
Crew members look off the deck of the MSC Meraviglia cruise ship docked at PortMiami, Tuesday, March 31, 2020, in Miami.
—CBS News, 8 May 2024
The spacecraft successfully docked with the I.S.S. during its second test flight in 2022, despite the failure of some thrusters during the launch.
—Joe Hernandez, NPR, 6 May 2024
While docked to the space station, the vehicle will be put through further tests, including practicing using it as a lifeboat in case astronauts needed to evacuate the ISS.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, WIRED, 6 May 2024
On Starliner’s first uncrewed test flight in 2019, a series of software and hardware failures prevented it from getting to its planned orbit as well as docking with the International Space Station.
—Discover Magazine, 3 May 2024
The cruise docked, and the party spent some time in Grand Turk before Wenrich was eventually detained when he was caught with two stray bullets in his bag while returning home.
—Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 27 Apr. 2024
The additional ships that will support the floating pier are en route to Gaza from Crete, Greece, where they had been docked after making a trans-Atlantic voyage to the eastern Mediterranean.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 25 Apr. 2024
Noun
The house has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a pool and a boat dock.
—Rebecca San Juan, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
To this day, old docks, piers and caissons are all submerged along the shoreline.
—Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 2 May 2024
Lara, who could not be reached for comment, reportedly caught his perch from a dock at Hammond Marina on the shore of Lake Michigan in Lake County.
—Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 1 May 2024
This may be a brush pile in 15 feet, the first rocky drop in 20 feet, or the base of a dock post in 10 feet of water.
—Shaye Baker, Field & Stream, 1 May 2024
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dock.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Dock.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dock. Accessed 16 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dock
1 of 5 noun
: 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 verb1
: 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 noun1
: a usually artificial basin to receive ships that has gates to control the water height
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 verb1
: 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
: 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
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