See Also: clock 1, noun(dictionary)
ten-o'clock(medicine)
four-o'clock(encyclopedia)
around-the-clock(dictionary)
clock(1)(dictionary)
clock(3)(dictionary)
clock(4)(dictionary)
clock(5)(dictionary)
clock(6)(dictionary)
o'clock(dictionary)

clock 1, noun (oh)




[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Middle Dutch; Origin: clocke 'bell, clock', from Medieval Latin clocca 'bell', from a Celtic language]
an instrument that shows what time it is, in a room or outside on a building
:: The clock on the church tower said nine o'clock.
::I lay there listening to the clock ticking .
::Mary set her alarm clock for 6:30 am (=made sure it would ring at 6:30) .
::My clock stopped and I didn't wake up in time.
::I heard the clock strike six .
by the hall/kitchen/church etc clock
(=according to a particular clock)
::What time is it by the kitchen clock?
the clock is slow/fast
(=the clock is showing an earlier or later time than the real time)
::The station clock was ten minutes slow.
wind (up) a clock
(=turn a key in a clock so that it keeps working)
set a clock by sth
(=change the time on a clock according to the time on the television, radio etc)
::I set my clock by the 6 o'clock news.
clock face
(=the front part of a clock)
-see also alarm clock , carriage clock , cuckoo clock , grandfather clock
-see also watch the clock at watch 1 (8)
around the clock
also round the clock
BrE all day and all night without stopping
::Kim has been working round the clock to finish it in time.
put/turn the clock back
a) also set the clock back AmE
to go back to the way things were done in the past instead of doing things in a modern way - used in order to show disapproval
::The new employment bill will put the clock back fifty years.
b) to return to a good situation that you experienced in the past or to make someone remember such a situation
::The kids are all grown up now and you can't put the clocks back .
put the clock(s) back/forward
BrE to change the time shown on the clock to one hour earlier or later, when the time officially changes
the clocks go back/forward
BrE the time changes officially to one hour earlier or later
::The clocks go back in October.
against the clock
a) if you work against the clock, you work as quickly as you can because you do not have much time
::Everyone is racing against the clock to get things ready in time.
b) if you run, swim etc against the clock, you run or swim a particular distance while your speed is measured
twenty-four hour clock
a system for measuring time in which the hours of the day and night have numbers from 0 to 23
start/stop the clock
to start or stop measuring how much time is left in a game or sport that has a time limit
the clock
a) an instrument in a vehicle that measures how far it has travelled
on the clock
::a car with 43,000 miles on the clock
b) an instrument in a vehicle that measures the speed at which it is travelling
run out the clock/kill the clock
AmE if a team runs out the clock at the end of a game, it tries to keep the ball for the rest of the game so that its opponents cannot get any points
-see also biological clock , body clock , dandelion clock , time clock