clock (clocks plural & 3rd person present) (clocking present participle) (clocked past tense & past participle )
1 n-count A clock is an instrument, for example in a room or on the outside of a building, that shows what time of day it is.
He was conscious of a clock ticking..., He also repairs clocks and watches..., ...a digital clock.
2 n-count A time clock in a factory or office is a device that is used to record the hours that people work. Each worker puts a special card into the device when they arrive and leave, and the times are recorded on the card.
oft n N
Government workers were made to punch time clocks morning, noon and night.
3 n-count In a car, theclock is the instrument that shows the speed of the car or the distance it has travelled.
(mainly BRIT) usu sing, the N
The car had 160,000 miles on the clock...
4 verb To clock a particular time or speed in a race means to reach that time or speed.
Elliott clocked the fastest time this year for the 800 metres... V n
5 verb If something or someone is clockedat a particular time or speed, their time or speed is measured at that level.
usu passive
He has been clocked at 11 seconds for 100 metres... be V-ed at amount
6
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alarm clock
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biological clock
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body clock
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cuckoo clock
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grandfather clock
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o'clock
7 If you are doing something against the clock, you are doing it in a great hurry, because there is very little time.
against the clock phrase PHR after v, n PHR
The emergency services were working against the clock as the tide began to rise..., It's now become a race against the clock.
8 If something is done round the clock or around the clock, it is done all day and all night without stopping.
round the clock/around the clock phrase PHR with v, PHR n
Rescue services have been working round the clock to free stranded motorists...
9 If you want to turn the clock back or put the clock back, you want to return to a situation that used to exist, usually because the present situation is unpleasant.
turn the clock back/put the clock back phrase V inflects In some ways we wish we could turn the clock back..., We cannot put back the clock. clock in phrasal verb When you clock in at work, you arrive there or put a special card into a device to show what time you arrived.,
(Antonym: clock off)
I have to clock in by eight. V P clock off phrasal verb When you clock off at work, you leave work or put a special card into a device to show what time you left.,
(Antonym: clock in)
The Night Duty Officer was ready to clock off... V P They clocked off duty and left at ten to three. V P n clock on phrasal verb When workers clock on at a factory or office, they put a special card into a device to show what time they arrived.
(=clock in) They arrived to clock on and found the factory gates locked. V P clock out phrasal verb Clock out means the same as clock off. She had clocked out of her bank at 5.02pm using her plastic card. V P of n, Also V P clock up phrasal verb If you clock up a large number or total of things, you reach that number or total.
(=notch up) In two years, he clocked up over 100 victories... V P n (not pron)
alarm clock (alarm clocks plural )An alarm clock is a clock that you can set to make a noise so that it wakes you up at a particular time. n-count
(=alarm)
I set my alarm clock for 4.30.
around-the-clock
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clock
biological clock (biological clocks plural )Your biological clock is your body's way of registering time. It does not rely on events such as day or night, but on factors such as your habits, your age, and chemical changes taking place in your body. n-count oft poss N
For women, the `biological clock' governs the time for having children.
body clock (body clocks plural )Your body clock is the internal biological mechanism which causes your body to automatically behave in particular ways at particular times of the day. n-count usu sing
Jet lag is caused because the body clock does not readjust immediately to the time change.
clock tower (clock towers plural )A clock tower is a tall, narrow building with a clock at the top. n-count
cuckoo clock (cuckoo clocks plural )A cuckoo clock is a clock with a door from which a toy cuckoo comes out and makes noises like a cuckoo every hour or half hour. n-count
grandfather clock (grandfather clocks plural )A grandfather clock is an old-fashioned type of clock in a tall wooden case which stands upright on the floor. n-count
o'clock
You use o'clock after numbers from one to twelve to say what time it is. For example, if you say that it is 9 o'clock, you mean that it is nine hours after midnight or nine hours after midday. adv num ADV
The trouble began just after ten o'clock last night..., I went to sleep, and at two o'clock in the morning I woke up.
round-the-clock
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clock
