cog
/kɒɡ/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈɔɡ] /kɑːɡ/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈɔɡ] /ˈkäg/ (ame, mw)
cog — noun
- cogsingular
- cogsplural
1. any of the small tooth-shaped pieces that stick out from a wheel's rim and lock
any of the small tooth-shaped pieces that stick out from a wheel's rim and lock into the matching pieces on a neighbouring wheel, so that turning one wheel makes the other turn too
Feng noticed that one cog on the old mill wheel had snapped off during the storm.
cog on [wheel] — countable, locating the part
The watchmaker carefully polished each tiny cog before fitting it back into the antique brass clock.
Maeve showed her students how the cogs of two gears press together to turn the bicycle chain.
A single chipped cog can stop a large factory machine from running smoothly for hours.
- tooth
the general everyday word; cog is the specific gear-wheel term used by engineers
- gear tooth
two-word technical synonym used in machinery and engineering writing
文法句型
cog on/of [wheel|gear]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2: this sense names ONE tooth on the rim, not the whole toothed wheel. Often plural when describing what makes a mechanism work.
常見錯誤
2. a wheel whose rim is lined with small tooth-shapes so it can grip and turn anoth
a wheel whose rim is lined with small tooth-shapes so it can grip and turn another similar wheel inside a machine
Christopher oiled the rusted cog at the heart of his grandfather's old printing press.
Tariq watched two iron cogs spin against each other inside the windmill's wooden housing.
cogs spin / mesh — typical verb collocation
The engineers replaced a worn cog that had been driving the conveyor belt for thirty years.
Andrés could hear the cogs grinding loudly whenever he lifted the heavy steel shutter.
文法句型
the cogs of [machine]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names the whole toothed wheel. In modern English the longer word 'cogwheel' is more common; plain 'cog' for the wheel is more typical in older or technical writing.
3. someone or something whose work matters to a big company, machine, or system, ev
someone or something whose work matters to a big company, machine, or system, even though their role is small and they could be replaced fairly easily
After twenty years at the bank, Tamar still felt like a cog in a giant corporate machine.
a cog in [a system] — fixed pattern
Rohan refused to be just another cog in the factory; he wanted his own ideas to be heard.
just a/another cog — diminishing self-description
Every nurse on the night shift is a vital cog in keeping the hospital running until morning.
Sari described herself as a small cog in the city's enormous transport network.
- pawn
stresses being used by more powerful people; cog stresses being one replaceable piece
- small fish
informal; emphasises low rank rather than mechanical role
- underling
focuses on rank below a boss, not on being part of a system
- leader
a cog follows the system; a leader directs it
- key player
stresses irreplaceable importance, the opposite of a cog's replaceability
文法句型
a cog in [larger system]
just a cog
用法筆記
Frequently used with a negative or self-deprecating tone, complaining that one feels replaceable. The phrase 'a cog in the machine' is so common it is almost fixed.
常見錯誤
cog — verb
- cogpresent simple I / you / we / they
- cogs3rd person singular
- cogging-ing form
- coggedpast simple
1. to secretly control how dice land when gambling, so that you win unfairly
to secretly control how dice land when gambling, so that you win unfairly
In the old tavern story, Nia caught a stranger cogging the dice with weighted edges.
cog + [the] dice — fixed object
The card-room rules warned that any player caught cogging the dice would be banned for life.
Meera read about Tudor gamblers who used to cog dice with hidden lead on one face.
Even the sharpest cheats could not cog the dice once Jisoo introduced a glass dicing cup.
文法句型
cog [the dice]
用法筆記
Almost extinct in modern English; appears mainly in historical novels and older dictionaries. The object is essentially always 'the dice'; you do not say 'cog the cards'.
2. to trick someone by telling them things that are not true, usually to get money
to trick someone by telling them things that are not true, usually to get money or property
Bao warned his younger brother not to let the market sellers cog him out of his savings.
cog [someone] out of [thing] — older pattern
Emre felt that the old merchant had cogged him with a smooth story about rare silver coins.
In the Victorian novel, Min realises the lawyer has cogged the whole family for years.
Nicholas swore that no charming stranger would ever cog him again after the earlier fraud.
- undeceive
rare formal opposite — to open someone's eyes to the truth
文法句型
cog [person]
cog [person] out of [thing]
用法筆記
Now archaic; almost never used in modern speech or writing. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense is about plain lies; sense 3 is about sugary praise used to get a favour.
3. to get something from someone by praising them in a fake or sugary way
to get something from someone by praising them in a fake or sugary way
The young courtier tried to cog the queen with poems comparing her eyes to morning stars.
cog [person] with [flattery]
Ezra noticed how the salesman cogged the elderly couple with endless compliments about their garden.
In the old play, the servant cogs his master into raising his weekly wages by half a crown.
Talia laughed when she realised the politician was simply cogging the crowd with empty praise.
文法句型
cog [person] into [doing something]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 2: cogging here is buttering someone up to get a favour, whereas sense 2 is straight lying. Now archaic.
4. to fix two pieces of wood together by carving a small projection on one piece th
to fix two pieces of wood together by carving a small projection on one piece that slots tightly into a hole cut in the other
Folake watched the carpenter cog the heavy oak beams without using a single iron nail.
The old barn was built by cogging long pine joists into the roof frame above the loft.
cogging [timber] into [structure]
Nadia explained how medieval shipwrights would cog two planks together so tightly they kept out water.
Léa learned to cog small blocks of walnut to a heavy workbench during her furniture-making course.
文法句型
cog [timber] to [timber]
用法筆記
Specialist carpentry term, almost never used outside woodworking books or museum descriptions. The pieces joined are essentially always heavy timbers, never small parts.
cog — abbreviation
1. a short written form of the word 'cognate', used in language and grammar books t
a short written form of the word 'cognate', used in language and grammar books to point out a word that shares the same historical root
In the etymology notes, Vinícius spotted 'cog.' next to the Latin word and traced the root home.
cog. — written abbreviation in technical notes
Sofie told her class that 'cog.' in the margin means the next entry shares a common ancestor.
Rachel found 'cog. Lat. caput' written beside the English headword in an old philology textbook.
The dictionary used 'cog.' to save space whenever it wanted to flag a related word in another language.
- cognate
the full form the abbreviation stands for; used in speech and in non-technical writing
文法句型
cog. + [language] + [word]
用法筆記
Distinguish from the noun and verb above: the abbreviation is a written shorthand, with a full stop, appearing only in specialist linguistics and etymology books. Spoken aloud, readers say 'cognate' in full.