in the dock

I i

Definitions of in the dock words

noun in the dock the place in a courtroom where a prisoner is placed during trial. 1
idioms in the dock in the dock, being tried in a court, especially a criminal court; on trial. 1
preposition in the dock (Idiomatic) Under accusation, scrutiny; subject to critical inspection. 0

before 1580

One of the 35% oldest English words

1580-90; perhaps < Dutch dok (dial. sense) cage, poultry pen, rabbit hutch

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 95% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer