beck

1
[ bek ]
/ bɛk /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR beck ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a gesture used to signal, summon, or direct someone.
Chiefly Scot. a bow or curtsy of greeting.

verb (used with or without object)

Archaic. beckon.

Idioms for beck

    at someone's beck and call, ready to do someone's bidding; subject to someone's slightest wish: He has three servants at his beck and call.

Origin of beck

1
1325–75; Middle English becken, short variant of becnen to beckon

Words nearby beck

bechstein, bechterew's disease, bechterew-mendel reflex, bechuana, bechuanaland, beck, beck's triad, beckenbauer, becker, becker's test, becket

Definition for beck (2 of 4)

beck 2
[ bek ]
/ bɛk /

noun North England.

a brook, especially a swiftly running stream with steep banks.

Origin of beck

2
1250–1300; Middle English becc < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse bekkr; akin to Old English bece, Dutch beek, German Bach brook, MIr bual flowing water < Indo-European *bhog-lā

Definition for beck (3 of 4)

beck 3
[ bek ]
/ bɛk /

verb (used with object) Metalworking.

to form (a billet or the like) into a tire or hoop by rolling or hammering on a mandrel or anvil.

Origin of beck

3
v. use of beck (noun), shortening of beck-iron, variant of bick-iron

Definition for beck (4 of 4)

Beck
[ bek ]
/ bɛk /

noun

Dave,1894–1993, U.S. labor leader: president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters 1952–57.

Words related to beck

tributary, estuary, stream, tide, rush, flow, spate, surge, current, flood, torrent, run, creek, brook, rivulet, course, watercourse, branch, rill, runnel

Example sentences from the Web for beck

British Dictionary definitions for beck (1 of 2)

beck 1
/ (bɛk) /

noun

a nod, wave, or other gesture or signal
at someone's beck and call ready to obey someone's orders instantly; subject to someone's slightest whim

Word Origin for beck

C14: short for becnen to beckon

British Dictionary definitions for beck (2 of 2)

beck 2
/ (bɛk) /

noun

(in N England) a stream, esp a swiftly flowing one

Word Origin for beck

Old English becc, from Old Norse bekkr; related to Old English bece, Old Saxon beki, Old High German bah brook, Sanskrit bhanga wave

Idioms and Phrases with beck

beck

see at someone's beck and call.