How to pronounce dock

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What dock means

verb

Most people know dock in its everyday sense. Here's its other meaning.

To take away part of someone's pay as a penalty

In a sentence: Mr. Lee docked Ben's allowance a dollar for leaving his bike out in the rain.

Where it comes from: It comes from the Middle English dokken, to cut short, from an old word for the stump of an animal's tail. It is a different word from the dock where boats tie up.

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