chockablock
chockablock Lexical Profile
chockablock Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Crammed full of people or things; tightly packed or crowded together.
"The small antique shop was chockablock with vintage furniture and rare books."
(Nautical) Having the two blocks of a tackle drawn so closely together that the line can be hoisted no further.
"The sailors hauled on the halyard until the rigging was completely chockablock."
• adverb
Very closely together; so as to be completely full or tightly packed.
"Commuters stood chockablock on the station platform waiting for the morning train."
Word Nuance & Usage
When used as an adjective, 'chockablock' functions almost exclusively in the predicate position (after a linking verb) and is frequently followed by the preposition 'with'.
Word Origin & Etymology
Originating as 19th-century nautical slang (often hyphenated as 'chock-a-block'), the term refers to a tackle of pulleys drawn so tightly together that the blocks touch and cannot be hoisted any further.