clock
1 (klŏk)
[Middle English clokke, from Old North French cloque, bell, or from Middle Dutch clocke, bell, clock, both from Medieval Latin clocca, of imitative origin.]
noun
- An instrument other than a watch for measuring or indicating time, especially a mechanical or electronic device having a numbered dial and moving hands or a digital display.
- A time clock.
- A source of regularly occurring pulses used to measure the passage of time, as in a computer.
- Any of various devices that indicate measurement, such as a speedometer or a taximeter.
- A biological clock.
- Botany The downy flower head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.
verb: clocked, clock·ing, clocks.
transitive verb
- To time, as with a stopwatch: clock a runner.
- To register or record with a mechanical device: clocked the winds at 60 miles per hour.
intransitive verb
- To record working hours with a time clock: clocks in at 8 a.m. and out at 4 p.m.
idioms
- around the clock
- Throughout the entire 24 hours of the day; continuously.
- clean (someone's) clock
- To beat or defeat decisively: “Immense linemen declared their intentions to clean the clocks of opposing players” (Russell Baker)
- kill the clock
- Sports To preserve a lead by maintaining possession of the ball or puck until playing time expires.
derivatives
- clocḱer
- noun
clock
2 (klŏk)
[Perhaps from clock1, bell (obsolete), from its original bell-shaped appearance.]
noun
- An embroidered or woven decoration on the side of a stocking or sock.
