What does "cocker" mean?
One who breeds gamecocks or engages in the sport of cockfighting.
Cocker
/ˈkɒkə/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One who breeds gamecocks or engages in the sport of cockfighting.
- Grammar: cocker is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: baby, caress, cater to, cocker spaniel.
- Usage evidence: This dog is a mix between a cocker spaniel and a poodle.
How to use "cocker"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cocker" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cocker" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cocker" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cocker" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cocker" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "baby" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cocker", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One who breeds gamecocks or engages in the sport of cockfighting.
- 2 A rustic high shoe; half-boot.
- 3 Friend, mate. UK, informal
"I been to see 'im. Not pretty. Ward sister tell me 'e'll be alright but not for a while yet. Concussion. Bloody 'ell! Lucky 'e wasn't killed, lump of lead like that. Lucky for you too, cocker..."
- 4 a small breed with wavy silky hair; originally developed in England wordnet
- 5 One who hunts woodcocks. dated
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A quiver. obsolete
- 7 A cocker spaniel, either of two breeds of dogs originally bred for hunting woodcocks. colloquial
- 8 A device that aids in cocking a crossbow.
"You have your choice of two stock-mounted cocking aids: the Acudraw 50, an integral rope cocker, or the Acudraw crank-operated device."
Verb
- 1 To make a nestle-cock of; to indulge or pamper (particularly of children).
"[…] shall a beardless boy, A cocker’d silken wanton, brave our fields […]?"
- 2 treat with excessive indulgence wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A river in Cumbria, England, which joins the Derwent at Cockermouth.
- 3 A short river in Lancashire, England, which flows into the Lune estuary.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"This dog is a mix between a cocker spaniel and a poodle."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cocker"?
Common synonyms include: baby, caress, cater to, cocker spaniel, cockle, coddle.
How do you use "cocker" in a sentence?
This dog is a mix between a cocker spaniel and a poodle.
How do you pronounce "cocker"?
Pronounced /ˈkɒkə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From cock (“a male bird, especially a rooster”) and its derivative cocking (“the hunting of gamecocks”), + -er (occupational suffix) or + -er (agent noun suffix).
Etymology 2
From Middle English coker (“a quiver, boot”) from Old English cocer (“quiver, case”) from Proto-West Germanic *kukur (“container, case”), said to be from Hunnic, possibly from Proto-Mongolic *kökexür (“leather vessel for liquids”). More at quiver.
Etymology 3
Uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English cokeren (“to pamper, coddle”); compare Welsh cocru (“to indulge, fondle”), French coqueliner (“to dandle, to imitate the crow of a cock, to run after the girls”), and English cockle and cock (“rooster; to spoil”).
Etymology 4
* As an English surname, from the verb cock (“to fight, wrangle”), itself from the bird. The river in Lancashire is also from the bird. * Also as an English surname, from the noun cock (sense 3) (“heap of hay”). * As a German surname, Americanized from Kocher. * The river in Cumbria is of Brythonic origin, from Proto-Brythonic *kukrā (“the crooked one”).