cocked

Cocked is the past tense and past participle of the verb cock. It has several related senses, often depending on context. In everyday use, it can mean to tilt or raise something, or to prepare a mechanism for action.

In firearms, to cock a weapon means to draw back the hammer or slide the firing mechanism so the gun is ready to discharge. A cocked pistol or rifle has its hammer or striker in a drawn-back position. This term is most common with traditional firearms; modern firearms may use different terminology, but the concept of being ready to fire remains the same.

More broadly, cocked describes things that are tilted or angled. For example, someone can cock their head to one side, or a bottle can be cocked to the left. The phrase cocked hat refers to a tri-corner hat worn with one side turned up, a style associated with 18th-century fashion. A cocked eyebrow is a raised eyebrow used to express skepticism or irony.

Etymology and usage notes: the sense derives from the verb cock, meaning to tilt or raise, with the firearm sense extending from the mechanical act of drawing back a hammer. Cocked is common in historical or literary contexts and remains in use in descriptive phrases and idioms. See also hammer, trigger, striker, and cocked hat.