1.
1.
[syn: clock, time]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Clock \Clock\ (kl[o^]k), v. t.
To ornament with figured work, as the side of a stocking.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Clock \Clock\, v. t. & i.
To call, as a hen. See Cluck. [R.]
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Clock \Clock\, n. (Zool.)
A large beetle, esp. the European dung beetle (Scarab[ae]us
stercorarius).
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Clock \Clock\ (kl[o^]k), n. [AS. clucge bell; akin to D. klok
clock, bell, G. glocke, Dan. klokke, Sw. klocka, Icel. klukka
bell, LL. clocca, cloca (whence F. cloche); al perh. of
Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael. clog bell, clock, W. cloch
bell. Cf. Cloak.]
1. A machine for measuring time, indicating the hour and
other divisions; in ordinary mechanical clocks for
domestic or office use the time is indicated on a
typically circular face or dial plate containing two
hands, pointing to numbers engraved on the periphery of
the face, thus showing the hours and minutes. The works of
a mechanical clock are moved by a weight or a spring, and
it is often so constructed as to tell the hour by the
stroke of a hammer on a bell. In electrical or electronic
clocks, the time may be indicated, as on a mechanical
clock, by hands, but may also be indicated by direct
digital readout, with the hours and minutes in normal
Arabic numerals. The readout using hands is often called
analog to distinguish it from the digital readout. Some
clocks also indicate the seconds. Clocks are not adapted,
like the watch, to be carried on the person. Specialized
clocks, such as atomic clocks, may be constructed on
different principles, and may have a very high precision
for use in scientific observations.
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2. A watch, esp. one that strikes. [Obs.] --Walton.
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3. The striking of a clock. [Obs.] --Dryden.
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4. A figure or figured work on the ankle or side of a
stocking. --Swift.
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Note: The phrases what o'clock? it is nine o'clock, etc., are
contracted from what of the clock? it is nine of the
clock, etc.
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Alarm clock. See under Alarm.
Astronomical clock.
(a) A clock of superior construction, with a compensating
pendulum, etc., to measure time with great accuracy,
for use in astronomical observatories; -- called a
regulator when used by watchmakers as a standard for
regulating timepieces.
(b) A clock with mechanism for indicating certain
astronomical phenomena, as the phases of the moon,
position of the sun in the ecliptic, equation of time,
etc.
Electric clock.
(a) A clock moved or regulated by electricity or
electro-magnetism.
(b) A clock connected with an electro-magnetic recording
apparatus.
Ship's clock (Naut.), a clock arranged to strike from one
to eight strokes, at half hourly intervals, marking the
divisions of the ship's watches.
Sidereal clock, an astronomical clock regulated to keep
sidereal time.
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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
clock
n 1: a timepiece that shows the time of day
v 1: measure the time or duration of an event or action or the
person who performs an action in a certain period of time;
"he clocked the runners" [syn: clock, time]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
24 Moby Thesaurus words for "clock":
Big Ben, beat time, brood, chronometer, clock movement, clockworks,
cover, fix the time, horologe, horologium, keep time, mark time,
measure time, set, set the time, sit, ticker, time, timekeeper,
timepiece, timer, turnip, watch, watchworks
The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):
clock
n.,v.
1. [techspeak] The master oscillator that steps a CPU or other digital
circuit through its paces. This has nothing to do with the time of day,
although the software counter that keeps track of the latter may be derived
from the former.
2. vt. To run a CPU or other digital circuit at a particular rate. ?If you
clock it at 1000MHz, it gets warm.?. See overclock.
3. vt. To force a digital circuit from one state to the next by applying a
single clock pulse. ?The data must be stable 10ns before you clock the
latch.?
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
clock
A circuit in a processor that generates a
regular sequence of electronic pulses used to synchronise
operations of the processor's components. The time between
pulses is the cycle time and the number of pulses per second
is the clock rate (or frequency).
The execution times of instructions on a computer are usually
measured by a number of clock cycles rather than seconds.
Clock rates for various models of the computer may increase
as technology improves, and it is usually the relative times
one is interested in when discussing the instruction set.
(1994-12-16)
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
CLOCK, n. A machine of great moral value to man, allaying his concern
for the future by reminding him what a lot of time remains to him.
A busy man complained one day:
"I get no time!" "What's that you say?"
Cried out his friend, a lazy quiz;
"You have, sir, all the time there is.
There's plenty, too, and don't you doubt it --
We're never for an hour without it."
Purzil Crofe