neck

1 /nek/ noun

1 PART OF THE BODY (C) the part of your body that joins your head to your shoulders: She wore a string of pearls around her neck.

2 CLOTHING (C) the part of a piece of clothing that goes around your neck: the neck of the shirt | The colour's all right, but the neck's a bit low.

—see also: crew neck, polo neck, scoop neck, turtleneck, V-neck

3 BOTTLE (C) the narrow part of a bottle

4 be up to your neck in to be in a difficult situation, or to be very busy doing something: Jim's always up to his neck in debt. | I've been up to my neck in paperwork all week.

5 breathe down sb's neck to watch what someone is doing very carefully, in a way that makes them nervous or annoyed: How can I, with accountants breathing down my neck the whole time!

6 V-necked/open-necked etc also V-neck/open-neck etc if a piece of clothing is V-necked etc, it has that type of neck: a navy V-necked sweater

7 I'll break/wring your neck spoken used to tell someone that you are so angry with them you feel like hurting them

8 (hanging) around your neck if a problem or difficult situation is hanging around your neck, you are responsible for it, and this makes you worry

9 get it in the neck BrE spoken to be severely punished: You'll really get it in the neck if you lose that watch!

10 MEAT (U) the neck of an animal, used as food: neck of lamb

11 neck and neck informal if two things are neck and neck in a competition or race, they both have an equal chance of winning

12 in this neck of the woods informal in this area or part of the country: What are you doing in this neck of the woods?

13 by a neck informal if a race is won by a neck, the winner is only a very short distance in front: Our horse won by a neck.

—see also: pain in the neck pain 1 (4), risk your neck risk 2 (1), save your own skin/neck save 1 (10), stick your neck out stick 1

14 LAND a narrow piece of land that comes out of a wider part

2 verb (I) informal if two people neck, they kiss for a long time in a sexual way — necking noun (U)