What does "neck" mean?
The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
Neck
/nɛk/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
- Grammar: neck is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: cervix, abbreviation, address, advocate.
- Useful contrasts: avoid, base, ignore.
- Usage evidence: The horses are coming down the track and it's neck and neck.
How to use "neck"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "neck" 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 "neck" 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 "neck" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "neck" 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 "neck" is acting as 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 "cervix" 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.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "neck", 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 The part of the body connecting the head and the trunk found in humans and some animals.
"Giraffes have long necks."
- 2 A shapeshifting water spirit in Germanic mythology and folklore; a nix.
"The Neck no more upon the river sings. And no Mermaid to bleach her linen flings Upon the waves in the mild solar ray."
- 3 an opening in a garment for the neck of the wearer; a part of the garment near the wearer's neck wordnet
- 4 The corresponding part in some other anatomical contexts.
- 5 a narrow part of an artifact that resembles a neck in position or form wordnet
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 The part of a shirt, dress etc., which fits a person's neck.
- 7 the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body wordnet
- 8 The tapered part of a bottle toward the opening.
- 9 a cut of meat from the neck of an animal wordnet
- 10 The slender tubelike extension atop an archegonium, through which the sperm swim to reach the egg.
"Archegonia are surrounded early in their development by the juvenile perianth, through the slender beak of which the elongated neck of the fertilized archegonium protrudes."
- 11 a narrow elongated projecting strip of land wordnet
- 12 The extension of any stringed instrument on which a fingerboard is mounted
- 13 A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts.
- 14 A reduction in size near the end of an object, formed by a groove around it.
"a neck forming the journal of a shaft"
- 15 The constriction between the root and crown of a tooth.
- 16 The gorgerin of a capital.
- 17 A volcanic plug, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano.
- 18 The small part of a gun between the chase and the swell of the muzzle.
- 19 A person's life. figuratively
"to risk one's neck; to save someone's neck"
- 20 A falsehood; a lie. Multicultural-London-English, informal, slang
- 21 Fellatio slang
"Shorty throw neck like a geese She make me speak Portuguese"
- 22 A bundle of wheat used in certain English harvest ceremonies. historical
"The person with 'the neck' stands in the centre, grasping it with both his hands"
Verb
- 1 To hang by the neck; strangle; kill, eliminate. slang, transitive
"Go neck yourself."
- 2 kiss, embrace, or fondle with sexual passion wordnet
- 3 To intently kiss or cuddle; to canoodle. US, informal, intransitive
"Alan and Betty were necking in the back of a car when Betty's dad caught them."
- 4 To drink or swallow rapidly. slang, transitive
"Actually, mostly I swan around in my silver sports car, necking drugs, and feeling sorry for myself."
- 5 To decrease in diameter. intransitive
"Since this temperature would place the bolt in its creep range, it will slowly stretch, necking down as it does so. Eventually it will get too thin to support the weight, and the bolt will break."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The horses are coming down the track and it's neck and neck."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "neck"?
Common synonyms include: cervix, abbreviation, address, advocate, alpenstock, and quarter.
How do you use "neck" in a sentence?
The horses are coming down the track and it's neck and neck.
How do you pronounce "neck"?
Pronounced /nɛk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English nekke, nakke, from Old English hnecca, *hnæcca (“neck, nape”), from Proto-Germanic *hnakkô (“nape, neck”), from Proto-Indo-European *knog-, *kneg- (“back of the head, nape, neck”). Cognate with Scots nek (“neck”), North Frisian neek, neeke, Nak (“neck”), Saterland Frisian Näkke (“neck”), West Frisian nekke (“neck”), Dutch nek (“neck”), German Low German Nack (“neck”), German Nacken (“nape of the neck”), Danish nakke (“neck”), Swedish nacke (“nape of the neck”), Icelandic hnakki (“neck”), Tocharian A kñuk (“neck, nape”). Possibly a mutated variant of *kneug/k (compare Old English hnocc (“hook, penis”), Welsh cnwch (“joint, knob”), Latvian knaūķis (“dwarf”). Doublet of nek. More at nook. Displaced halse (“neck, throat”) and swire (“neck”).
Etymology 2
From Danish nøkke, Swedish näck.