neck

[[t]ne̱k[/t]]

♦♦♦

necks, necking, necked

1) N-COUNT: usu poss N Your neck is the part of your body which joins your head to the rest of your body.

She threw her arms round his neck and hugged him warmly...

He was short and stocky, and had a thick neck.

2) N-COUNT: usu sing The neck of an article of clothing such as a shirt, dress, or sweater is the part which surrounds your neck.

...the low, ruffled neck of her blouse...

He wore a blue shirt open at the neck.

3) N-COUNT: usu the N of n The neck of something such as a bottle or a guitar is the long narrow part at one end of it.

Catherine gripped the broken neck of the bottle.

...cancer of the neck of the womb.

4) V-RECIP: usu cont If two people are necking, they are kissing each other in a sexual way. [INFORMAL]

[pl-n V] They sat talking and necking in the car for another ten minutes...

[V with n] I found myself behind a curtain, necking with my best friend's wife. [Also V n (non-recip)]

Syn:

snog

5) N-SING: usu by a N If a horse wins a race by a neck, it wins by a very small distance.

Cee En Cee went on to win by a neck from Leigh Crofter.

6) PHRASE: V and N inflect If you say that someone is breathing down your neck, you mean that they are watching you very closely and checking everything you do.

Most farmers have bank managers breathing down their necks.

7) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, oft PHR with n In a competition, especially an election, if two or more competitors are neck and neck, they are level with each other and have an equal chance of winning.

The latest polls indicate that the two main parties are neck and neck...

The Communists are running absolutely neck-and-neck with the Christian Democrats.

8) PHRASE: V and N inflect If you say that someone is risking their neck, you mean they are doing something very dangerous, often in order to achieve something.

I won't have him risking his neck on that motorcycle.

9) PHRASE: V and N inflect To save someone's neck means to prevent them from losing their job or harming their reputation.

He had enough friends in the right places to save his neck and cover up for him...

He said the President was making a last ditch attempt to save his own neck.

10) PHRASE: V and N inflect If you stick your neck out, you bravely say or do something that might be criticized or might turn out to be wrong. [INFORMAL]

During my political life I've earned myself a reputation as someone who'll stick his neck out, a bit of a rebel.

11) PHRASE: N inflects If you say that you have something round your neck or around your neck, you mean that it is your responsibility and it causes you a lot of worry.

No-one should start working life with a debt round their neck...

It's a legacy which will hang around the country's neck for some time to come.

12) PHRASE: N inflects If you say that someone is in some sort of trouble or criminal activity up to their neck, you mean that they are deeply involved in it. [INFORMAL]

The black market was flourishing, everybody was corrupt, in it up to their necks...

He is probably up to his neck in debt.

13) PHRASE: usu in PHR Someone or something that is from your neck of the woods is from the same part of the country as you are. [INFORMAL]

It's so good to see you. What brings you to this neck of the woods?

14) to put your neck on the block → see block

to have a millstone round your neck → see millstone

the scruff of your neck → see scruff