in hock

English

Etymology

From Dutch hok (“hutch, hovel, jail, pen, doghouse”).[1]

Prepositional phrase

in hock

  1. Having been pawned.
    Her necklace is in hock in order to cover some family expenses.
  2. (figurative, by extension) Indebted. [with to ‘someone’]
    • 2022 June 5, Ezra Klein, “Your Kids Are Not Doomed”, in The New York Times‎[1]:
      The wind doesn’t stop blowing because an autocrat has a tantrum; harnessing the solar radiation that bathes our world doesn’t leave us in hock to the House of Saud.

Derived terms

See also

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “in hock”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
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