tock
tock Lexical Profile
tock Game Scores & Validity
• interjection
Used, typically after 'tick', to imitate the regular, alternating sound of a mechanical clock or watch, or to emphasize the steady passage of time.
"Tick, tock, the exam timer is almost up!"
• noun
A short, hollow clicking sound, especially the second beat of the alternating 'tick-tock' sound made by a mechanical clock.
"In the quiet study, every tick and tock of the antique grandfather clock seemed amplified."
Any of several small to medium-sized African hornbills of the genus Tockus, characterized by a long, down-curved bill that lacks a prominent casque and a distinctive repetitive call.
• verb
To make a regular, hollow clicking sound like that of a clock (especially in alternation with ticking).
"The heavy pendulum tocked steadily in the corner of the library."
• Rhymes for tock
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Originating in the 19th century as a reduplicative variation of 'tick' (as in 'tick-tock'), the word is imitative of the lower-pitched second beat of a clock's escapement mechanism. The sense referring to a hornbill is borrowed from the French 'toc', which is also imitative of the bird's call.