shock Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the feeling of distress and disbelief that you have when something bad happens accidentally
    daze; stupor.
    • his mother's death left him in a daze
    • he was numb with shock
  2. noun the violent interaction of individuals or groups entering into combat
    impact.
    • the armies met in the shock of battle
  3. noun a reflex response to the passage of electric current through the body
    electric shock; electrical shock.
    • subjects received a small electric shock when they made the wrong response
    • electricians get accustomed to occasional shocks
  4. noun (pathology) bodily collapse or near collapse caused by inadequate oxygen delivery to the cells; characterized by reduced cardiac output and rapid heartbeat and circulatory insufficiency and pallor
    • loss of blood is an important cause of shock
  5. noun an instance of agitation of the earth's crust
    seismic disturbance.
    • the first shock of the earthquake came shortly after noon while workers were at lunch
  6. noun an unpleasant or disappointing surprise
    blow.
    • it came as a shock to learn that he was injured
  7. noun a pile of sheaves of grain set on end in a field to dry; stalks of Indian corn set up in a field
    • corn is bound in small sheaves and several sheaves are set up together in shocks
    • whole fields of wheat in shock
  8. noun a bushy thick mass (especially hair)
    • he had an unruly shock of black hair
  9. noun a sudden jarring impact
    jar; jolt; jounce.
    • the door closed with a jolt
    • all the jars and jolts were smoothed out by the shock absorbers
  10. noun a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
    shock absorber; cushion.
    • the old car needed a new set of shocks
  11. verb surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off
    take aback; ball over; blow out of the water; floor.
    • I was floored when I heard that I was promoted
  12. verb strike with disgust or revulsion
    scandalize; appal; appall; scandalise; outrage; offend.
    • The scandalous behavior of this married woman shocked her friends
  13. verb strike with horror or terror
    • The news of the bombing shocked her
  14. verb collide violently
  15. verb collect or gather into shocks
    • shock grain
  16. verb subject to electrical shocks
  17. verb inflict a trauma upon
    traumatize; traumatise.

WordNet

Shock noun
Etymology
OE. schokke; cf. OD schocke, G. schock a heap, quantity, threescore, MHG. schoc, Sw. skok, and also G. hocke a heap of hay, Lith. kugis.
Definitions
  1. A pile or assemblage of sheaves of grain, as wheat, rye, or the like, set up in a field, the sheaves varying in number from twelve to sixteen; a stook.
    And cause it on shocks to be by and by set. Tusser.
    Behind the master walks, builds up the shocks. Thomson.
  2. G. schock. (Com.) A lot consisting of sixty pieces; -- a term applied in some Baltic ports to loose goods.
Shock transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To collect, or make up, into a shock or shocks; to stook; as, to shock rye.
Shock intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To be occupied with making shocks.
    Reap well, scatter not, gather clean that is shorn, Bind fast, shock apace. Tusser.
Shock noun
Etymology
Cf. D. schok a bounce, jolt, or leap, OHG. scoc a swing, MHG. schoc, Icel. skykkjun tremuously, F. choc a shock, collision, a dashing or striking against, Sp. choque, It. ciocco a log. Cf. Shock to shake.
Definitions
  1. A quivering or shaking which is the effect of a blow, collision, or violent impulse; a blow, impact, or collision; a concussion; a sudden violent impulse or onset.
    These strong, unshaken mounds resist the shocks Of tides and seas tempestuous. Blackmore.
    He stood the shock of a whole host of foes. Addison.
  2. A sudden agitation of the mind or feelings; a sensation of pleasure or pain caused by something unexpected or overpowering; also, a sudden agitating or overpowering event. "A shock of pleasure." Talfourd.
  3. (Med.) A sudden depression of the vital forces of the entire body, or of a port of it, marking some profound impression produced upon the nervous system, as by severe injury, overpowering emotion, or the like.
  4. (Elec.) The sudden convulsion or contraction of the muscles, with the feeling of a concussion, caused by the discharge, through the animal system, of electricity from a charged body. Syn. -- Concussion, Shock. Both words signify a sudden violent shaking caused by impact or colision; but concussion is restricted in use to matter, while shock is used also of mental states.
Shock transitive verb
Etymology
OE. schokken; cf. D. schokken, F. choquer, Sp. chocar. Cf. Chuck to strike, Jog, Shake, Shock a striking, Shog, n. & v.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Shocked ; present participle & verbal noun Shocking
Definitions
  1. To give a shock to; to cause to shake or waver; hence, to strike against suddenly; to encounter with violence.
    Come the three corners of the world in arms, And we shall shock them. Shak.
    A shall never forget the force with which he shocked De Vipont. Sir W. Scott.
  2. To strike with surprise, terror, horror, or disgust; to cause to recoil; as, his violence shocked his associates.
    Advise him not to shock a father's will. Dryden.
Shock intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To meet with a shock; to meet in violent encounter. "They saw the moment approach when the two parties would shock together." De Quincey.
Shock noun
Etymology
Cf. Shag.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) A dog with long hair or shag; -- called also shockdog.
  2. A thick mass of bushy hair; as, a head covered with a shock of sandy hair.
Shock adjective
Definitions
  1. Bushy; shaggy; as, a shock hair.
    His red shock peruke . . . was laid aside. Sir W. Scott.

Webster 1913