yoking
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms, Encyclopedia.
yoke
(yōk)n.
1.
a. A contoured crossbar having two U-shaped attachments that fit around the necks of a team of oxen or other draft animals, with a central ring for hitching the team to a cart, plow, or other load.
b. pl. yoke or yokes A pair of draft animals, such as oxen, joined by a yoke.
c. A bar used with a double harness to connect the collar of each horse to the pole of a wagon or coach.
2. A frame designed to be carried across a person's shoulders with equal loads suspended from each end.
3. Nautical A crossbar on a ship's rudder to which the steering cables are connected.
4. A clamp or vise that holds a machine part in place or controls its movement or that holds two such parts together.
5. A piece of a garment that is closely fitted, either around the neck and shoulders or at the hips, and from which an unfitted or gathered part of the garment is hung.
6. Something that connects or joins together; a bond or tie.
7. Electronics A series of two or more magnetic recording heads fastened securely together for playing or recording on more than one track simultaneously.
8.
a. Any of various emblems of subjugation, such as a structure made of two upright spears with a third laid across them, under which conquered enemies of ancient Rome were forced to march in subjection.
b. The condition of being subjugated by or as if by a conqueror; subjugation or bondage: 14th-century Russia under the Tatar yoke; the yoke of drug addiction.
v. yoked, yok·ing, yokes
v.tr.
1. To fit or join with a yoke.
2.
a. To harness a draft animal to.
b. To harness (a draft animal) to a vehicle or an implement.
3. To join together; bind: partners who were yoked together for life.
4. To force into heavy labor, bondage, or subjugation.
v.intr.
To become joined.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
yoking
(ˈjəʊkɪŋ)n
1. (Physical Geography) a land parcel measured in units of about 16 yards
2. (Agriculture) a shift of work at the plough or with a cart
3. the act of taking part in a contest
4. (Agriculture) the act of joining animals (esp oxen) together under a wooden beam
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014