Halfcock
noun, verb
noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The position when the cock of a gun is at the first notch. uncountable
"This was bad both for the alibi reshoots it caused and subsequent delays in a match, but if the hammer fell to halfcock enough times, the half-cock notch would mar the sear tip, adversely affecting trigger pull."
Verb
- 1 To set the cock of a firearm at the first notch.
Example
More examples"This was bad both for the alibi reshoots it caused and subsequent delays in a match, but if the hammer fell to halfcock enough times, the half-cock notch would mar the sear tip, adversely affecting trigger pull."
Etymology
From half + cock.
Related phrases
More for "halfcock"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.