neck definition | Dictionary.com

neck

[nek]

–noun

1.	the part of the body of an animal or human being that connects the head and the trunk.

2.	the part of a garment encircling, partly covering, or closest to the neck; neckline.

3.	the length of the neck of a horse or other animal as a measure in racing.

4.	the slender part near the top of a bottle, vase, or similar object.

5.	any narrow, connecting, or projecting part suggesting the neck of an animal.

6.	a narrow strip of land, as an isthmus or a cape.

a strait.

8.	the longer and more slender part of a violin or similar stringed instrument, extending from the body to the head.

9.	Building Trades, Machinery. the part on a shank of a bolt next to the head, esp. when it has a special form.

10.	Anatomy. a narrowed part of a bone, organ, or the like.

11.	Dentistry. the slightly narrowed region of a tooth between the crown and the root.

12.	Printing. beard (def. 5).

13.	Architecture. a cylindrical continuation of the shaft of a column above the lower astragal of the capital, as in the Roman Doric and Tuscan orders.

14.	Also called volcanic neck. Geology. the solidified lava or igneous rock filling a conduit leading either to a vent of an extinct volcano or to a laccolith.

–verb (used without object)

15.	Informal. (of two persons) to embrace, kiss, and caress one another amorously.

–verb (used with object)

16.	Informal. to embrace, kiss, and caress (someone) amorously.

17.	to strangle or behead.

—Idioms

18.	be up to one's neck, Informal. to have a surfeit; be overburdened: Right now she's up to her neck in work.

19.	break one's neck, Informal. to make a great effort: We broke our necks to get there on time.

20.

get it in the neck, Slang.

a.	to suffer punishment or loss: The trend is to consolidation and small businesses are getting it in the neck.

b.	to be rejected or dismissed: The employees got it in the neck when the company moved overseas.

c.	to be sharply reprimanded or scolded.

21.	neck and neck, even or very close; indeterminate as to the outcome: They were coming toward the finish line neck and neck.

22.	neck of the woods, Informal. neighborhood, area, or vicinity: Next time you're in this neck of the woods, drop in.

23.	stick one's neck out, Informal. to expose oneself to danger, disaster, failure, disgrace, etc.; take a risk: He stuck his neck out by supporting an unpopular candidate.

24.

win by a neck,

a.	to win by a small amount or narrow margin.

b.	Racing. to be first by a head and neck; finish closely.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME nekke, OE hnecca, c. D nek nape of neck; akin to G Nacken, ON hnakki nape of neck

Related forms:

necker, noun

neckless, adjective

necklike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To neck

beard (bîrd)

The hair on a man's chin, cheeks, and throat.
A hairy or hairlike growth such as that on or near the face of certain mammals.
A tuft or group of hairs or bristles on certain plants, such as barley and wheat.
One who serves to divert suspicion or attention from another.
Printing The raised slope on a piece of type between the shoulder or counter and the face. Also called neck.

tr.v. beard·ed, beard·ing, beards

To furnish with a beard.
To confront boldly.

[Middle English berd, from Old English beard; see bhardh-ā- in Indo-European roots.]
beard'less adj.

neck (něk)

The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders or trunk.
The part of a garment around or near the neck.
Anatomy
1. A narrow or constricted part of a structure, as of a bone or organ, that joins its parts; a cervix.
2. The part of a tooth between the crown and the root.
A relatively narrow elongation, projection, or connecting part: a neck of land; the neck of a flask.
Music The narrow part along which the strings of an instrument extend to the pegs.
Printing See beard.
Geology Solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano.
The siphon of a bivalve mollusk, such as a clam.
A narrow margin: won by a neck.

v.   necked, neck·ing, necks

v.   intr. Informal
To kiss and caress amorously.
v.   tr.
To strangle or decapitate (a fowl).

[Middle English nekke, from Old English hnecca.]
neck'less adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Neck

Neck\, n. [OE. necke, AS. hnecca; akin to D. nek the nape of the neck, G. nacken, OHG. nacch, hnacch, Icel. hnakki, Sw. nacke, Dan. nakke.]

1. The part of an animal which connects the head and the trunk, and which, in man and many other animals, is more slender than the trunk.

2. Any part of an inanimate object corresponding to or resembling the neck of an animal; as: (a) The long slender part of a vessel, as a retort, or of a fruit, as a gourd. (b) A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts. (c) (Mus.) That part of a violin, guitar, or similar instrument, which extends from the head to the body, and on which is the finger board or fret board.

3. (Mech.) A reduction in size near the end of an object, formed by a groove around it; as, a neck forming the journal of a shaft.

4. (Bot.) the point where the base of the stem of a plant arises from the root.

Neck and crop, completely; wholly; altogether; roughly and at once. [Colloq.]

Neck and neck (Racing), so nearly equal that one cannot be said to be before the other; very close; even; side by side.

Neck of a capital. (Arch.) See Gorgerin.

Neck of a cascabel (Gun.), the part joining the knob to the base of the breech.

Neck of a gun, the small part of the piece between the chase and the swell of the muzzle.

Neck of a tooth (Anat.), the constriction between the root and the crown.

Neck or nothing (Fig.), at all risks.

Neck verse. (a) The verse formerly read to entitle a party to the benefit of clergy, said to be the first verse of the fifty-first Psalm, "Miserere mei," etc. --Sir W. Scott. (b) Hence, a verse or saying, the utterance of which decides one's fate; a shibboleth.

These words, "bread and cheese," were their neck verse or shibboleth to distinguish them; all pronouncing "broad and cause," being presently put to death. --Fuller.

Neck yoke. (a) A bar by which the end of the tongue of a wagon or carriage is suspended from the collars of the harnesses. (b) A device with projecting arms for carrying things (as buckets of water or sap) suspended from one's shoulders.

On the neck of, immediately after; following closely. "Commiting one sin on the neck of another." --W. Perkins.

Stiff neck, obstinacy in evil or wrong; inflexible obstinacy; contumacy. "I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck." --Deut. xxxi. 27.

To break the neck of, to destroy the main force of. "What they presume to borrow from her sage and virtuous rules . . . breaks the neck of their own cause." --Milton.

To harden the neck, to grow obstinate; to be more and more perverse and rebellious. --Neh. ix. 17.

To tread on the neck of, to oppress; to tyrannize over.

Neck

Neck\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Necked; p. pr. & vb. n. Necking.] (Mech.) To reduce the diameter of (an object) near its end, by making a groove around it; -- used with down; as, to neck down a shaft.

Language Translation for : neck

Spanish: cuello,

German: der Hals,

Japanese: 首

More Translations »

neck

O.E. hnecca "neck, back of the neck" (a fairly rare word) from P.Gmc. *khnekkon "the nape of the neck" (cf. O.Fris. hnekka, M.Du. necke, O.N. hnakkr, O.H.G. hnach, Ger. Nacken "neck"), with no certain cognates outside Gmc., though some suggest PIE *knok- "high point, ridge" (cf. O.Ir. cnocc, Welsh cnwch, O.Bret. cnoch "hill"). The more usual O.E. words were hals (the general Gmc. word, cf. Goth., O.N., Dan., Swed., Du., Ger. hals), cognate with L. collum (see collar); and swira, probably also from a PIE root meaning "column" (cf. Skt. svaru- "post"). The verb meaning "to kiss, embrace, caress" is first recorded 1825 (implied in necking) in northern England dial., from the noun. Neckerchief is 1382, from kerchief (q.v.). Phrase neck of the woods (Amer.Eng.) is attested from 1780 in the sense of "narrow stretch of woods;" 1839 with meaning "settlement in a wooded region." Neckline of a garment is from 1904. To stick one's neck out "take a risk" is first recorded 1926, Amer.Eng. Horses running neck and neck is attested from 1799.

Main Entry: neck
Pronunciation: 'nek
Function: noun
1 a : the usually narrowed part of an animal that connects the head with the body;specifically : the cervical region of a vertebrate b : the part of a tapeworm immediately behind the scolex from which new proglottids are produced
2 : a relatively narrow part suggestive of a neck: as a : a narrow part of a bone neck of the femur> b : CERVIX 2 c : the part of a tooth between the crown and the root

neck (něk)
n.

The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders or trunk.
A narrow or constricted part of a structure, as of a bone or an organ, that joins its parts; a cervix.
The part of a tooth between the crown and the root.

Neck

used sometimes figuratively. To "lay down the neck" (Rom. 16:4) is to hazard one's life. Threatenings of coming judgments are represented by the prophets by their laying bands upon the people's necks (Deut. 28:48; Isa. 10:27; Jer. 27:2). Conquerors put their feet on the necks of their enemies as a sign of their subjection (Josh. 10:24; 2 Sam. 22:41).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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neck

In addition to the idioms beginning with neck, also see albatross around one's neck; break one's back (neck); breathe down someone's neck; dead from the neck up; millstone around one's neck; pain in the neck; risk life and limb (one's neck); save someone's bacon (neck); stick one's neck out; up to one's ears (neck).

neck

in land vertebrates, the portion of the body joining the head to the shoulders and chest. Some important structures contained in or passing through the neck include the seven cervical vertebrae and enclosed spinal cord, the jugular veins and carotid arteries, part of the esophagus, the larynx and vocal cords, and the sternocleidomastoid and hyoid muscles in front and the trapezius and other nuchal muscles behind. Among the primates, humans are characterized by having a relatively long neck

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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