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neck

Pronunciation: /nɛk/

Translate neck | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of neck

noun

  • 1the part of a person’s or animal’s body connecting the head to the rest of the body:she had a silver crucifix around her neck
  • the part of a garment that is around or close to the neck:her dress had three buttons at the neck undone a round neck
  • [mass noun] meat from an animal’s neck:neck of lamb
  • a person’s neck regarded as bearing a burden of responsibility or guilt:he’ll be stuck with a loan around his neck
  • 2a narrow connecting or end part of something, in particular:
  • the part of a bottle or other container near the mouth: he seized the neck of the whisky bottle
  • a narrow piece of land or sea, such as an isthmus or channel: the narrow neck of land between loch and sea
  • Anatomy a narrow part near one end of an organ, such as the uterus: the neck of the womb, usually called the cervix
  • the part of a violin, guitar, or other similar instrument that bears the fingerboard.
  • (often volcanic neck) Geology a column of solidified lava or igneous rock formed in a volcanic vent, especially when exposed by erosion.
  • Botany a narrow supporting part in a plant, especially the terminal part of the fruiting body in a fern, bryophyte, or fungus.
  • 3the length of a horse’s head and neck as a measure of its lead in a race:Dolpour won by a neck from Wood Dancer

verb

  • 1 [no object] informal (of two people) kiss and caress amorously:we started necking on the sofa
  • 2 [with object] British informal swallow (something, especially a drink):after necking some beers, we left the bar
  • 3 [no object] (often neck down) form a narrowed part at a particular point when subjected to tension: the nylon filament necks down to a fraction of its original diameter

Phrases

break one's neck to do something

informal exert oneself to the utmost to achieve something: he had to break his neck to make Price’s work look good

get (or catch) it in the neck

British informal be severely criticized or punished: whenever I try to help someone, I seem to get it in the neck

have the neck to do something

informal have the impudence or nerve to do something: he had the neck to say I wasn’t going to marry the man

neck and neck

level in a race or other competition: opinion polls showed the two major parties neck and neck

neck of the woods

informal a particular area:fancy seeing her in this neck of the woods!

up to one's neck in

informal seriously or busily involved in:they were up to their necks in debt

Derivatives

necked

adjective
[in combination]:an open-necked shirt a red-necked grebe

necker

noun

neckless

adjective

Origin:

Old English hnecca 'back of the neck', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch nek 'neck' and German Nacken 'nape'

neck in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of neck in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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