neck

neck¹ W2S2 [nek] n

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1¦(part of the body)¦

2¦(clothing)¦

3¦(narrow part)¦

4 be up to your neck in something

5 neck and neck (with somebody)

6 in this/somebody's neck of the woods

7 get it in the neck

8 by a neck

9¦(land)¦

10 (hang) around your neck

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[: Old English; Origin: hnecca]

1.) ¦(PART OF THE BODY)¦

the part of your body that joins your head to your shoulders, or the same part of an animal or bird

around sb's neck

▪ Jean wore a string of pearls around her neck.

▪ Mike rubbed the back of his neck.

▪ You have a lot of tension in your neck muscles.

▪ He patted his horse's neck.

▪ She had a mass of golden hair , which she wore in a coil at the nape (=back) of her neck .

▪ The dog picked up the puppy and carried it by the scruff (=back) of the neck into the house.

2.) ¦(CLOTHING)¦

the part of a piece of clothing that goes around your neck

neck of

▪ The neck of his shirt was open.

▪ The sweater has a round neck and long sleeves.

V-necked/open-necked etc

▪ a navy V-necked sweater

→crew neck, polo neck, scoop neck, turtleneck, V-neck

3.) ¦(NARROW PART)¦

the narrow part of something, usually at the top

neck of

▪ Lara put the cork back in the neck of the bottle.

▪ a crack in the neck of the violin

4.) be up to your neck in sth

a) to be very busy with something

▪ She's up to her neck in work.

b) to be in a difficult situation that is hard to escape from

▪ Jim's up to his neck in debt.

5.) neck and neck (with sb) informal if two competitors or groups are neck and neck in a competition or race, they are level with each other

▪ Opinion polls show the two main parties are running neck and neck.

6.) in this/sb's neck of the woods informal

in a particular area or part of the country

▪ I haven't been in this neck of the woods for years.

7.) get it in the neck

BrE spoken to be punished or criticized

▪ If we don't make some changes we'll all get it in the neck.

8.) by a neck informal

if a race, especially a horse race, is won by a neck, the winner is only a very short distance in front

▪ Our horse won by a neck.

9.) ¦(LAND)¦

a narrow piece of land that comes out of a wider part

▪ a neck of land between a lake and the sea

10.) (hang) around your neck

if something hangs around your neck, it keeps causing you problems

→be breathing down sb's neck at ↑breathe, I'll wring sb's neck at ↑wring, pain in the neck at ↑pain¹ (3), risk your neck at ↑risk² (1), save sb's neck at ↑save¹ (11), stick your neck out at stick out(3)

neck ²

neck² v [I usually in progressive] informal

if two people are necking, they kiss for a long time in a sexual way

>necking n [U]