gooseneck
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Anything with a slender curved shape, resembling the neck of a goose, such as the shaft of some lamps.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
goosnekSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡusnɛk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
often attributive
Anything with a slender curved shape, resembling the neck of a goose, such as the shaft of some lamps.
nautical
The swivel connection on a sailboat located near the bottom of the mast that the boom attaches to. When a sailboat performs a tack or a jibe the gooseneck swings the boom from one side of the boat to the other.
Lysimachia clethroides, a species of plant bearing many small white flowers.
verb
transitive
To seal (a bag) securely by twisting, folding, and cinching or taping.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Anything with a slender curved shape, resembling the neck of a goose, such as the shaft of some lamps.
Used this way, gooseneck is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Stalked barnacle that attaches to ship bottoms or floating timbers.
A variety of the loosestrife herb.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.