Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: GEOGRAPHY

Language: Old English
Origin: hnecca

neck

1 noun
     
neck
neck1 S2 W2 [countable]
1

part of the body

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

DCC 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 something

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 somebody)

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/somebody'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

British English 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

SG 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 somebody's neck

at breathe (5)

; ➔ I'll wring somebody's neck

at wring (6)

; ➔ pain in the neck

at pain1 (3)

; ➔ risk your neck

at risk2 (1)

; ➔ save somebody's neck

at save1 (11)

; ➔ stick your neck out

at stick out (3)
Definition of neck from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic GEOGRAPHY
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The GEOGRAPHY
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inlet

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