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to coldcock

to coldcock

4 9.9
To knock someone out with one sudden hard punch
  • verb
  • /ˈkoʊldˌkɑk/
  • NSFW
translation icon : noquear
  • Did you coldcock him?

Examples

  • He was angry and, in a moment of rage, decided to coldcock his opponent with a single punch.

  • Coming around El Salvador, she pulled a knife on me, so I coldcocked her with a frying pan.

  • Boy, you better shut your mouth before I coldcock your ass.

  • All right, my best play is I circle around... coldcock him from the back side.

  • You asking me, he needs to get coldcocked a few times.

  • That girl that coldcocked me.

  • That's when he coldcocked me.

  • He coldcocked him.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • When Delé won the title in February, he coldcocked a helpless opponent named Carlos Elliott.

  • After an unexpected confrontation, he managed to coldcock the larger man, knocking him out instantly.

Synonyms

to knock
vsto coldcock
937 1.0

To hit something by accident with a sudden movement

is intentional and aims to render unconscious rather than being accidental
to whack
vsto coldcock
250 5.5

To hit someone or something hard so it makes a loud sound

is more specific, aiming to incapacitate with one sudden head strike
to knock down
vsto coldcock
93 3.0

Use force to make someone or something fall to the ground

focuses on a single unexpected blow meant to render unconscious instead
to deck
vsto coldcock
  • Informal
14 8.2

To hit someone so hard that they fall to the ground

seeks to render unconscious with one sudden incapacitating strike
to knock cold
vsto coldcock
8 7.9

To make someone unconscious by hitting them

aims especially at the head and often comes as a sudden blow
to floor
vsto coldcock
8 4.8

To knock someone to the ground with force

does so by a sudden incapacitating blow often targeting the head
to dump
vsto coldcock
6 5.6

To knock someone down with force, often in sport

aims for a sudden head strike that incapacitates rather than just topples
to headbutt
vsto coldcock
4 6.1

To hit someone or something hard with your head

focuses on a head strike but not necessarily causing unconsciousness
to knock flat
vsto coldcock
1 7.4

To surprise someone very much so they cannot react

is a physical single blow aimed to cause unconsciousness rather than mere shock
to wack
vsto coldcock
  • Informal
1 8.9

Hit someone or something quickly and hard

focuses on an incapacitating, unexpected blow rather than a sharp hit

How Forceful

to coldcock
  • NSFW
4 9.9
to knock down
93 3.0
to hit
1.0
to smack
164 3.5
tap
66 1.0

Surface Forms

coldcock infinitive
coldcocked past
coldcocked past participle
coldcocking present participle
coldcocks third person singular

Morphology

coldcock = cold + cock (opaque) = cold + cock

Although the word is visibly cold + cock, the sense 'to knock unconscious' is idiomatic/slang and not predictable from the component meanings.

Etymology

The word coldcock is American slang and a helpful way to remember it is to split it into cold and cock; think cold as 'sudden' and cock like in 'to cock a gun' — a quick, ready strike. So, to coldcock someone is to knock them out with one fast blow.