The AI-powered English dictionary
countable and uncountable, plural shocks
A sudden, heavy impact.
(figuratively) Something so surprising that it is stunning. examples
(psychology) A sudden or violent mental or emotional disturbance. quotations
A tremendous shock arises when a secret is discovered.
2005, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, David Kessler, On Grief and Grieving, page 85
(medicine) Electric shock, a sudden burst of electrical energy hitting a person or animal. quotations examples
But as was the case with pacemakers, external defibrillators were unwieldy, and the shocks they delivered—in the rare cases when patients were still conscious—were painful.
2018, Sandeep Jauhar, Heart: a History, page 173
(psychology) A state of distress following a mental or emotional disturbance.
(medicine) Circulatory shock, a medical emergency characterized by the inability of the circulatory system to supply enough oxygen to meet tissue requirements. examples
(physics) A shock wave. examples
(automotive, mechanical engineering) A shock absorber (typically in the suspension of a vehicle). quotations examples
We're bonin' on the dark blocks / Wearin' out the shocks, wettin' up the dashboard clock
1993, “Back Seat (of My Jeep)”, in 14 Shots to the Dome, performed by LL Cool J
At the rear, you'll find a single, centrally mounted shock, the now-familiar single-sided swingarm and BMW's Paralever shaft-drive system, which does away with most of a shafty's chassis-jacking bugaboos.
1994, Cycle World Magazine, volume 33, number 1, page 49
(mathematics) A discontinuity arising in the solution of a partial differential equation. examples
A chemical added to a swimming pool to moderate the chlorine levels. examples
not comparable
Causing intense surprise, horror, etc.; unexpected and shocking. examples
third-person singular simple present shocks, present participle shocking, simple past and past participle shocked
(transitive) To cause to be emotionally shocked; to cause (someone) to feel surprised and upset. examples
(transitive) To give an electric shock to. examples
(transitive) To subject to a shock wave or violent impact. examples
(obsolete, intransitive) To meet with a shock; to collide in a violent encounter. quotations
They saw the moment approach when the two parties would shock together.
1832, Thomas De Quincey, Klosterheim Or, the Masque
(transitive) To add a chemical to (a swimming pool) to moderate the chlorine levels. examples
(geology, transitive) To deform the crystal structure of a stone by the application of extremely high pressure at moderate temperature, as produced only by hypervelocity impact events, lightning strikes, and nuclear explosions. quotations
It takes more than two gigapascals (two billion pascals) of pressure to shock quartz in this manner (for comparison, the atmosphere at sea level exerts a little over 100,000 pascals of pressure).
2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 44
plural shocks
An arrangement of sheaves for drying; a stook. quotations examples
Cause it on shocks to be by and by set.
1557, Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry
Behind the Master walks, builds up the Shocks.
1730, James Thomson, “Autumn”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768
(commerce, dated) A lot consisting of sixty pieces; a term applied in some Baltic ports to loose goods. examples
(by extension) A tuft or bunch of something, such as hair or grass. quotations examples
Every now and then I’m startled at how good-looking John is, but he glared at me from under the shock of hair that fell across his brow and scared me a little.
1968 October 12, Paul Zindel, chapter 12, in The Pigman
On day three I pointed at the edge of an intricate pentagram peeking above her shock of oily black hair.
2019, Hal Y. Zhang, Hard Mother, Spider Mother, Soft Mother, Brooklyn, NY: Radix Media, page 2
(obsolete) A small dog with long shaggy hair, especially a poodle or spitz; a shaggy lapdog. quotations
When I read of witty persons, I could not figure them but like the little shock. (translating the German Spitz)
1827, Thomas Carlyle, The Fair-Haired Eckbert
(transitive) To collect, or make up, into a shock or shocks; to stook. examples