clock 1
(klŏk)n.1. 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.
2. A time clock.
3. A source of regularly occurring pulses used to measure the passage of time, as in a computer.
4. Any of various devices that indicate measurement, such as a speedometer or a taximeter.
5. A biological clock.
6. The downy flower head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.
v. clocked, clock·ing, clocks
v.tr.1. To time, as with a stopwatch: clock a runner.
2. To register or record with a mechanical device: clocked the winds at 60 miles per hour.
3. Informal To strike or hit (someone) forcefully, especially in the face.
v.intr.1. To record working hours with a time clock: clocks in at 8:00 and out at 4:00.
2. To be measured or registered, especially at a certain speed or rate. Often used with in: a fastball that clocks in at 95 miles per hour.
Phrasal Verb: clock up Chiefly British Slang To accumulate; rack up: clocked up a number of wins.
Idioms: around/round the clock Throughout the entire 24 hours of the day; continuously.
clean (someone's) clock Slang To beat or defeat decisively: "Immense linemen declared their intentions to clean the clocks of opposing players" (Russell Baker).
kill/run down/run out the clock Sports To preserve a lead by maintaining possession of the ball or puck until playing time expires.
[Middle English clokke, from Old North French cloque, bell, or from Middle Dutch clocke, bell, clock, both from Medieval Latin clocca, of imitative origin.]
clock′er n.
clock 2
(klŏk)n. An embroidered or woven decoration on the side of a stocking or sock.
[Perhaps from
clock,
bell (obsolete), from its original bell-shaped appearance.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.