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Glite Dictionary
cant hook

cant hook

9.8
A long handle with a metal hook used to move and turn logs
  • noun
  • /kænt hʊk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : gancho
  • With a firm grip on his cant hook, he rolled the log to make room for more timber.

Examples

  • "Give me your cant hook," I says to him.

    The Lighthouse (2019)

  • One of the riders had a cant hook in his hand.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The bearded youth set aside his cant hook.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • A sun-bronzed, bearded youth used a cant hook to roll logs off the Chevy truck bed to the collecting deck.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The lumberjack used a cant hook to expertly maneuver the heavy log into place.

  • She demonstrated how to turn a log using a cant hook, ensuring everyone understood its purpose.

Synonyms

peavy
vscant hook
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A strong wooden or metal pole with a sharp tip and hook used to move logs

uses a single hook instead of a spike to handle and turn logs
peavey
vscant hook
  • Specialized
9.9

A long wooden tool with a sharp metal point used to lift and roll logs

uses a hook rather than a spike to turn and handle logs
dog hook
vscant hook
  • US
9.9

A strong metal bar with a sharp point that you use to move logs

relies on a hook instead of a spike to grip and turn logs

How Useful

cant hook
  • Specialized
9.8
cant dog
  • Specialized
9.9
pry bar
  • US
3 4.8
stick
686 1.0

Surface Forms

cant hook singular
cant hooks plural

Morphology

cant + hook

Even if a B1 learner knows 'cant' as an angular slope and 'hook' as a curved implement, those meanings do not transparently yield 'a logging tool for handling and turning logs' because the specialized logging sense of cant (or the verb 'to cant') is not apparent from the given general definition. Only 'hook' signals an implement; the overall noun refers to a culture- and domain-specific tool whose meaning cannot be predicted from the surface constituents.

Etymology

Cant hook may come from two simple words: cant, an old word for a partly cut 'log', and hook, the metal part that grips the wood. This picture of a hook grabbing and turning a heavy 'log' explains why the name means a tool for handling and turning logs.