cocking

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈkɑkɪŋ/ UK /ˈkɒkɪŋ/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
tilting upward or drawing back the hammer of a gun

Cocking his head, the dog listened for the distant whistle.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · tilting upward or drawing... tiltingraising

Word family

Related forms cock cocked

Etymology

Present participle of the verb cock 'to tilt up, set at an angle, or draw back a gun's hammer', from cock 'rooster', whose strutting and head movements gave rise to the verb.

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Word Formation & Derivatives

# cocking

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈkɑkɪŋ
**IPA (UK):** ˈkɒkɪŋ

## Meanings
1. tilting upward or drawing back the hammer of a gun

## Examples
- Cocking his head, the dog listened for the distant whistle.

## Synonyms
- tilting
- raising

## Related Forms
- cock
- cocked

## Etymology
Present participle of the verb cock 'to tilt up, set at an angle, or draw back a gun's hammer', from cock 'rooster', whose strutting and head movements gave rise to the verb.

## AI Etymology
Cocking is the present participle of the verb cock 'to tilt up, set at an angle, or draw back a gun's hammer', from cock 'rooster', whose strutting and head movements gave rise to the verb. Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers tilting upward or drawing back the hammer of a gun. The wider family includes related words such as cock and cocked.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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cocking

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