Skip to main content
cog

cog

17 6.7
A person who does an important routine job in a large organization
  • noun
  • /kɔg/
translation icon : engranaje
  • As the machine gets bigger, we little cogs all get smaller and less significant.
  • cog in the wheel
  • an important cog

You're going to become someone's cog in a wheel.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • A person is more a cog in the State's machine than a free individual.

    Academic text (2017)
  • I'm not supposed to be some cog in a corporate strategy.

  • You are the cog in the technology wheel without which it will not turn.

    Academic text (2009)
  • I'm just a cog in the wheel of the machine here.

  • They're just one, one more cog in the intelligence collection machine, right?

  • And it had been a vital cog in their defenses.

  • You are a very small cog in a very large system and you will do as your commanding officer instructs.

  • Harvin has been one of the key cogs in the Minnesota machine.

    Blog text (27)
  • Freeman has been one of the main cogs of the Harvard offense this season.

    Blog text (23)
  • In a large corporation, many employees feel like just a cog in the machine, doing their jobs without much say.

Antonyms

1.0

A person who guides and directs a group, organization, or country

533 4.5

A senior manager who makes important decisions in a company

Compounds

cog railway
  • Specialized
6.6

A railway for steep hills where a gear on the train fits into a toothed rail to prevent slipping

How Important

executive
533 4.5
manager
1.6
supervisor
346 2.8
cog
17 6.7
clerk
273 2.5
intern
229 3.1

Surface Forms

cog singular
cogs plural

Etymology

The word cog for a small person in a big organization comes from that 'tooth' idea: like one small tooth in a machine, a cog does a routine but important job that keeps the whole system moving.