*neck*

. 1. a location or situation in which otherwise rapid progress is impeded. [ PJC ]

2. a point at which road traffic slows due to congestion or narrowing of the roadway. [ PJC ]

3. an impasse. [ PJC ]

4. a narrowing.
Syn. -- constriction. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. same as obstruct; as, his laziness has bottlenecked our efforts to reform the system. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. to become narrower as one approaches a point; -- said of roads; as, right by the bridge, the road bottlenecks. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

. (Automobiles) An inswept frame. [ Colloq. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. A fall that breaks the neck. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A steep place endangering the neck. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Producing danger of a broken neck; as, breakneck speed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a short, thick and muscular neck like that of a bull. Sir W. Scott. [ Narrower terms: mesomorphic ] [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Either of two varieties of squash, distinguished by their tapering, recurved necks. The summer crookneck is botanically a variety of the pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) and matures early in the season. It is pale yellow in color, with warty excrescences. The winter crookneck belongs to a distinct species (Cucurbita moschata) and is smooth and often striped. [ U. S. ]
Syn. -- crookneck squash. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A deerlike, or thin, ill-formed neck, as of a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a neck like a ewe; -- said of horses in which the arch of the neck is deficient, being somewhat hollowed out. Youwatt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. hairy annual plant (Phacelia tanacetifolia) of California to Mexico with crowded cymes of small blue to lilac or mauve flowers.
Syn. -- Phacelia tanacetifolia. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Etymol. uncertain. ] (Naut.) The twisting of a rope or cable, as it is running out. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Zool.) The sordid friar bird of Australia (Tropidorhynchus sordidus). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ from the leather collar that was once part of their uniform. ] A member of the United States Marine Corps; a United States Marine. [ slang ] [ PJC ]

n. 1. a quahog when young and small; frequently eaten raw.
Syn. -- littleneck clam. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a young quahog suitable to be eaten raw.
Syn. -- littleneck clam. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Cut low in the neck; decollete; low-cut; -- said of a woman's dress. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. necke, AS. hnecca; akin to D. nek the nape of the neck, G. nacken, OHG. nacch, hnacch, Icel. hnakki, Sw. nacke, Dan. nakke. ] 1. The part of an animal which connects the head and the trunk, and which, in man and many other animals, is more slender than the trunk. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any part of an inanimate object corresponding to or resembling the neck of an animal; as: (a) The long slender part of a vessel, as a retort, or of a fruit, as a gourd. (b) A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts. (c) (Mus.) That part of a violin, guitar, or similar instrument, which extends from the head to the body, and on which is the finger board or fret board. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mech.) A reduction in size near the end of an object, formed by a groove around it; as, a neck forming the journal of a shaft. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Bot.) the point where the base of the stem of a plant arises from the root. [ 1913 Webster ]

Neck and crop, completely; wholly; altogether; roughly and at once. [ Colloq. ] --
Neck and neck (Racing), so nearly equal that one cannot be said to be before the other; very close; even; side by side. --
Neck of a capital. (Arch.) See Gorgerin. --
Neck of a cascabel (Gun.), the part joining the knob to the base of the breech. --
Neck of a gun, the small part of the piece between the chase and the swell of the muzzle. --
Neck of a tooth (Anat.), the constriction between the root and the crown. --
Neck or nothing (Fig.), at all risks. --
Neck verse. (a) The verse formerly read to entitle a party to the benefit of clergy, said to be the first verse of the fifty-first Psalm, “Miserere mei, ” etc. Sir W. Scott. (b) Hence, a verse or saying, the utterance of which decides one's fate; a shibboleth.

These words, “bread and cheese, ” were their neck verse or shibboleth to distinguish them; all pronouncing “broad and cause, ” being presently put to death. Fuller.

--
Neck yoke. (a) A bar by which the end of the tongue of a wagon or carriage is suspended from the collars of the harnesses. (b) A device with projecting arms for carrying things (as buckets of water or sap) suspended from one's shoulders. --
On the neck of, immediately after; following closely; on the heel of. “Committing one sin on the neck of another.” W. Perkins. --
Stiff neck, obstinacy in evil or wrong; inflexible obstinacy; contumacy. “I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck.” Deut. xxxi. 27. --
To break the neck of, to destroy the main force of; to break the back of. “What they presume to borrow from her sage and virtuous rules . . . breaks the neck of their own cause.” Milton. --
To harden the neck, to grow obstinate; to be more and more perverse and rebellious. Neh. ix. 17. --
To tread on the neck of, to oppress; to tyrannize over. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Necked p. pr. & vb. n. Necking. ] (Mech.) To reduce the diameter of (an object) near its end, by making a groove around it; -- used with down; as, to neck down a shaft. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To kiss and caress amorously. [ Colloq. ] -- n. necking. [ PJC ]

(Bot.) See Nicker nut. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A band which goes around the neck; often, the part at the top of a garment. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A piece of any fabric worn around the neck. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having (such) a neck; -- chiefly used in composition; as, stiff-necked. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) Cracked; -- said of a treenail. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For neck kerchief. ] A kerchief for the neck; -- called also neck handkerchief. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Neckmold. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A string of beads, etc., or any continuous band or chain, worn around the neck as an ornament. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) A rope or chain fitted around the masthead to hold hanging blocks for jibs and stays. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Wearing a necklace; marked as with a necklace. [ 1913 Webster ]

The hooded and the necklaced snake. Sir W. Jones. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A neck of land. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. lacking or apparently lacking a neck; -- of a garment; as, a neckless gown. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A necklace. E. Anold. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. (Arch.) A small convex molding surrounding a column at the junction of the shaft and capital. Weale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Gorget, 1 and 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A scarf, band, or kerchief of silk, etc., passing around the neck or collar and tied in front; a bow of silk, etc., fastened in front of the neck. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A collective term for cravats, collars, etc. [ Colloq. or trade name ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) (a) An American annual weed (veronica peregrina), with small white flowers and a roundish pod. (b) The hemp; -- so called as furnishing ropes for hanging criminals. Dr. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Zool.) Any one of several species of small plovers of the genus Aegialitis, having a ring around the neck. The ring is black in summer, but becomes brown or gray in winter. The semipalmated plover (Aegialitis semipalmata) and the piping plover (Aegialitis meloda) are common North American species. Called also ring plover, and ring-necked plover. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) The ring-necked duck. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Zool.) Having a well defined ring of color around the neck. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ring-necked duck (Zool.), an American scaup duck (Aythya collaris). The head, neck, and breast of the adult male are black, and a narrow, but conspicuous, red ring encircles the neck. This ring is absent in the female. Called also ring-neck, ring-necked blackhead, ringbill, tufted duck, and black jack. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A European flounder (Hippoglossoides limandoides); -- called also rough dab, long fluke, sand fluke, and sand sucker. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having a scraggy neck. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The snakebird, 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Snatch. ] To fasten by a hatch; to latch, as a door. [ Scot. & Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Sneck up, be silent; shut up; hold your peace. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A door latch. [ Scot. & Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Sneck band, a latchstring. Burns. --
Sneck drawer, a latch lifter; a bolt drawer; hence, a sly person; a cozener; a cheat; -- called also sneckdraw. --
Sneck drawing, lifting the latch. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A door latch, or sneck. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Stubborn; inflexibly obstinate; contumacious; as, stiff-necked pride; a stiff-necked people. Ex. xxxii. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being stiff-necked; stubbornness. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Geol.) A column of igneous rock formed by congelation of lava in the conduit of a volcano and later exposed by the removal of surrounding rocks. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Med.) [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A twisted or distorted neck; a deformity in which the neck is drawn to one side by a rigid contraction of one of the muscles of the neck; torticollis. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. a person suffering from torticollis. [ PJC ]

3. (Zool.) Any one of several species of Old World birds of the genus Jynx or subfamily Jynginae, allied to the woodpeckers; especially, the common European species (Jynx torguilla); -- so called from its habit of turning the neck around in different directions. Called also cuckoo's mate, snakebird, summer bird, tonguebird, and writheneck. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]