hock

/hɑk/

/hɒk/

Other forms: hocks; hocking; hocked

The hock is a joint on an animal's hind leg, or hock (as a verb) can also mean "to pawn." If you are hard up for cash, you may need to hock that ham hock for a few bucks. Good luck!.

An animal's hock is the rough equivalent to a human's ankle. A horse's hock is easy to see: it's the joint above the hoof that's angled backwards. Other mammals (especially those with long legs) also have hocks, including dogs and pigs. In the case of a pig, the word hock is more commonly used to describe a cut of meat from the animal's leg — a "ham hock." When hock is a verb, it usually means "pawn," or "leave an item in return for a loan of money."

Definitions of hock

1. noun

   tarsal joint of the hind leg of hoofed mammals; corresponds to the human ankle
   synonyms: hock-joint

   type of:

   articulatio, articulation, joint

   (anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if it allows motion)
2. verb

   disable by cutting the hock
   type of:

   disable, handicap, incapacitate, invalid

   injure permanently
3. noun

   any of several white wines from the Rhine River valley in Germany (`hock' is British usage)
   synonyms: Rhenish, Rhine wine

   types:

   Riesling

   fragrant dry or sweet white wine from the Rhine valley or a similar wine from California

   liebfraumilch

   a sweetened Rhenish wine (especially one from Hesse in western Germany)

   type of:

   white wine

   pale yellowish wine made from white grapes or red grapes with skins removed before fermentation
4. verb

   leave as a guarantee in return for money
   synonyms: pawn, soak

   type of:

   charge, consign

   give over to another for care or safekeeping