neck
/ˈnɛk/
neck noun: the part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
Noun (1)
neck (plural necks)
- The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
- Giraffes have long necks.
- Mother, help me, there's a head attached to my neck and I'm in it.2019 October 15, ZA/UM, Robert Kurvitz, quoting You, Disco Elysium, →OCLC
- Synonyms:
- scrag
- The corresponding part in some other anatomical contexts.
- The part of a shirt, dress etc., which fits a person's neck.
- The tapered part of a bottle toward the opening.
- The slender tubelike extension atop an archegonium, through which the sperm swim to reach the egg.
- Archegonia are surrounded early in their development by the juvenile perianth, through the slender beak of which the elongated neck of the fertilized archegonium protrudes.1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page 5
- The extension of any stringed instrument on which a fingerboard is mounted
- A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts.
- A reduction in size near the end of an object, formed by a groove around it.
- a neck forming the journal of a shaft
- The constriction between the root and crown of a tooth.
- The gorgerin of a capital.
- A volcanic plug, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano.
- The small part of a gun between the chase and the swell of the muzzle.
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
- A person's life.
- to risk one's neck; to save someone's neck
- A falsehood; a lie.
- Fellatio
- Shorty throw neck like a geese
She make me speak Portuguese2016, “Pimptations”, performed by Smino - She drop neck for a check and a paystub2018, “Florida Thang”, in The South Got Something To Say, performed by Pouya
- Synonyms:
- Kirk
- Shorty throw neck like a geese
- A bundle of wheat used in certain English harvest ceremonies.
- The person with 'the neck' stands in the centre, grasping it with both his hands1837, R. A. R., The Everyday Book, page 1169
- "The neck" is generally hung up in the farmhouse, where it remains for two or three years.1911, James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, volume 7, page 266
Verb
neck (third-person singular simple present necks, present participle necking, simple past and past participle necked)
- To hang by the neck; strangle; kill, eliminate.
- Go neck yourself.
- To intently kiss or cuddle; to canoodle.
- Alan and Betty were necking in the back of a car when Betty's dad caught them.
- Molly had been in love with Sick Boy since he necked with her in a seedy disco-bar in Leith a few weeks ago. Sick Boy had made a drunken point about HIV transmission and to illustrate it had spent most of the night french-kissing her.1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 326
- To drink or swallow rapidly.
- Actually, mostly I swan around in my silver sports car, necking drugs, and feeling sorry for myself.2005, Stephen Price, Monkey Man, page 146
- In the dim light, punters sit sipping raspberry-flavoured Tokyo martinis, losing the freestyle sushi off their chopsticks or necking Asahi beer.2006, Sarah Johnstone, Tom Masters, London
- Synonyms:
- chug
- To decrease in diameter.
- Since this temperature would place the bolt in its creep range, it will slowly stretch, necking down as it does so. Eventually it will get too thin to support the weight, and the bolt will break.2007, John H. Bickford, Introduction to the Design and Behavior of Bolted Joints, page 272
Noun (2)
neck (plural necks)
- A shapeshifting water spirit in Germanic mythology and folklore; a nix.
- The Neck no more upon the river sings.
And no Mermaid to bleach her linen flings
Upon the waves in the mild solar ray.1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 234 - The beautiful Nix or Nixie who allures the young fisher or hunter to seek her embraces in the wave which brings his death, the Neck who seizes upon and drowns the maidens who sport upon his banks, the river-spirit who still yearly in some parts of Germany demands tribute of human life, are all...1876, John Mitchell Kemble, The Saxons in England: A History of the English Commonwealth Till the Period of the Norman Conquest, volume I, London: Bernard Quaritch, page 391
- The Neck no more upon the river sings.
neck meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
neck in Hindi
- part of body connecting the head and the trunk
- गर्दन gardan, कंठ kaṇṭh, ग्रीवा grīvā, गला galā
- part of a shirt, dress etc.
- गला galā
- tapered part of a bottle
- गला galā
- extension of stringed instrument
- डाँड ḍā̃ḍ
neck in Tamil
- part of body connecting the head and the trunk
- கழுத்து kaḻuttu
- part of a shirt, dress etc.
- கழுத்து kaḻuttu
- tapered part of a bottle
- கழுத்து kaḻuttu
neck in Marathi
- part of body connecting the head and the trunk
- मान mān
neck in Urdu
- part of body connecting the head and the trunk
- گَرْدَن gardan, کَنْٹھ kanṭh
More languagesFewer languages
- neck in Bengali
- গলা gola, গর্দান gordan
- neck in Telugu
- మెడ meḍa
- neck in Malayalam
- കഴുത്ത് kaḻuttŭ
- neck in Kannada
- ಕತ್ತು kattu
- neck in Punjabi
- ਧੌਣ dhauṇ
- neck in Gujarati
- ગરદન gardan
- neck in Odia
- ଘାଟ ghāṭa, ବେକ beka
- neck in Sanskrit
- ग्रीवा grīvā
- neck in Sinhala
- බෙල්ල bella
- neck in Assamese
- গল gol, ডিঙি diṅi
- neck in Nepali
- घाँटी, घाड
- neck in Pashto
- غاړه ǧāṛa
- neck in Tagalog
- leeg
- neck in Arabic
- رَقَبَة raqaba, عُنُق ʕunuq, رقبة raʔaba, عنق ʕunq
- neck in Malay
- leher
- neck in Indonesian
- leher
- neck in Persian
- گَرْدَن gardan, مُل mol, گَری gari
- neck in Thai
- คอ kɔɔ, ลำคอ lam-kɔɔ
- neck in Vietnamese
- cổ
- neck in Myanmar
- လည်ပင်း lanypang:
- Dhivehi
- ކަދުރާ kadurā
- Kashmiri
- گَردَن gardan
Examples of neck in a sentence
- Paying the mortgage every month is a millstone round their necks.
- As I lay on my back, a pain shot down from my neck to my waist.
- Close the trap, would you, before someone falls and breaks their neck.
Synonyms of neck
17 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of neck
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | necks |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | necks |
| present participle | necking |
| past participle | necked |
| past | necked |
Origin of neck
From Middle English nekke, nakke, from Old English hnecca, *hnæcca (“neck, nape”), from Proto-West Germanic *hnakkō, from Proto-Germanic *hnakkô (“nape, neck”), from Proto-Indo-European *knog-, *kneg- (“back of the head, nape, neck”). Cognate with Scots nek (“neck”), North Frisian neek, neeke, Nak (“neck”), Saterland Frisian Näkke (“neck”), West Frisian nekke (“neck”), Dutch nek (“neck”), German Low German Nack (“neck”), German Nacken (“nape of the neck”), Danish nakke (“neck”), Swedish nacke (“nape of the neck”), Icelandic hnakki (“neck”), Tocharian A kñuk (“neck, nape”). Possibly a mutated variant of *kneug/k (compare Old English hnocc (“hook, penis”), Welsh cnwch (“joint, knob”), Latvian knaūķis (“dwarf”). Doublet of nek. More at nook. Displaced halse (“neck, throat”) and swire (“neck”).
From Danish nøkke, Swedish näck.
Words formed from neck
- above the neck rule
- albatross around one's neck
- albatross round one's neck
- bateau neck
- boatneck
- bootneck
- bottleneck
- brass-neck
- brass neck
- breakneck
- break one's neck
- breathe down someone's neck
- bullneck
- bust one's neck
- catch it in the neck
- checkup from the neck up
- chicken-neck
- Codd-neck bottle
- cowlneck
- crewneck
- crew neck
- crookneck
- dead from the neck up
- deer-neck
- Derbyshire neck
- devil-on-the-neck
- drake's-neck green
- drop neck
- ewe neck
- fall on someone's neck
- fall upon someone's neck
- fiddleneck
- fiddler's neck
- foreneck
- frilled neck lizard
- frilled-neck lizard
- frillneck
- gamer neck
- get it in the neck
- give neck
- gooseneck
- Great Neck
- halter neck
- halterneck
- harden one's neck
- have the world by the neck
- hindneck
- jewel-neck
- leatherneck
- legs all the way to one's neck
- limberneck
- littleneck
- Little Neck
- longneck
- long-neck
- midneck
- millstone around one's neck
- millstone round one's neck
- my neck
- neckache
Phrases with neck
- neck up
- Cow Neck
- neck day
- neck eel
- neck oil
- neck pad
- neck tie
- gave neck
- neck days
- neck deep
- neck down
- neck eels
117 more phrasesFewer phrases
- neck pads
- neck ring
- neck rule
- neck yoke
- polo neck
- swan neck
- tech neck
- text neck
- drops neck
- given neck
- gives neck
- Naked Neck
- neck badge
- neck brace
- neck guard
- neck joint
- neck knife
- neck plate
- neck pubes
- neck rings
- neck verse
- neck yokes
- scoop neck
- stiff neck
- giving neck
- neck braces
- neck corset
- neck gaiter
- neck guards
- neck joints
- neck knives
- neck pillow
- neck plates
- neck verses
- pencil neck
- screen neck
- turtle neck
- dropped neck
- neck bearing
- neck corsets
- neck gaiters
- neck in neck
- neck on neck
- neck pillows
- dropping neck
- neck and crop
- neck and neck
- neck bearings
- neck kerchief
- Reynolds Neck
- shunting neck
- volcanic neck
- Eaglehawk Neck
- neck and heels
- neck kerchiefs
- neck kerchieves
- neck or nothing
- neck sweetbread
- risk one's neck
- save one's neck
- broke one's neck
- busts one's neck
- neck sweetbreads
- pain in the neck
- risks one's neck
- saved one's neck
- saves one's neck
- up to one's neck
- breaks one's neck
- broken one's neck
- busted one's neck
- neck of the woods
- pains in the neck
- polo neck sweater
- red neck syndrome
- risked one's neck
- saving one's neck
- busting one's neck
- got it in the neck
- hardens one's neck
- polo neck sweaters
- put one's neck out
- risking one's neck
- wind one's neck in
- breaking one's neck
- gets it in the neck
- hardened one's neck
- swan neck deformity
- winds one's neck in
- wound one's neck in
- frilled neck lizards
- hardening one's neck
- stick one's neck out
- stuck one's neck out
- bottle neck inflation
- caught it in the neck
- sticks one's neck out
- swan neck deformities
- winding one's neck in
- bottle neck inflations
- catches it in the neck
- fell on someone's neck
- getting it in the neck
- catching it in the neck
- falls on someone's neck
- sticking one's neck out
- fallen on someone's neck
- checkups from the neck up
- falling on someone's neck
- had the world by the neck
- has the world by the neck
- breathed down someone's neck
- breathes down someone's neck
- having the world by the neck
- breathing down someone's neck
- up to one's neck in alligators
- when you're up to your neck in alligators, it's hard to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp
Words that rhyme with neck
44 more rhymesFewer rhymes
Questions about neck
- What does neck mean?
- Neck means the part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
- What is neck in Hindi?
- Neck in Hindi is गर्दन (gardan), कंठ (kaṇṭh), ग्रीवा (grīvā). See Neck meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is neck?
- Neck can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce neck?
- Neck is pronounced /ˈnɛk/.
- What is the plural of neck?
- The plural of neck is necks.
Words near neck in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: neck (page history and authors); ଘାଟ (Odia) (page history and authors); neck (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-neck.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-neck.wav.
Cite this entry: “neck.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/neck. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.