cocking C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction US /ˈkɑkɪŋ/ UK /ˈkɒkɪŋ/ See IPA manual 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 cockcocked Etymology AI details 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 External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # 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 markdown