clock

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English clok, from Middle Dutch clocke bell, clock, from Old French or Medieval Latin; Old French dialect (Picard) cloque bell, from Medieval Latin clocca, of Celtic origin; akin to Middle Irish clocc bell Date: 14th century 1. a device other than a watch for indicating or measuring time commonly by means of hands moving on a dial; broadly any periodic system by which time is measured 2. a registering device usually with a dial; specifically odometer 3. time clock 4. a synchronizing device (as in a computer) that produces pulses at regular intervals 5. biological clock II. verb Date: 1883 transitive verb 1. a. to time with a stopwatch or by an electric timing device b. to be timed at 2. to register on a mechanical recording device <

wind velocities were clocked at 80 miles per hour

> 3. to hit hard 4. chiefly British attain, realize — usually used with up <

just clocked up a million…paperback sales — Punch

> 5. a. to travel (a distance) over time <

clocks more than 15,000 miles a year on business

> b. put in 3 <

clocking long hours at the office

> intransitive verb 1. to have a specified duration or speed — used with in <

the movie clocked in at just under 3 hours

>; broadly to have a specified measure or value — used with in <

the meal clocked at about $15

> 2. to register on a time sheet or time clock ; punch — used with in, out, on, off <

he clocked in late

> • clocker noun III. noun Etymology: perhaps from 1clock Date: 1530 an ornamental figure on the ankle or side of a stocking or sock