dock me

Meanings

1. 1phrasetransitiveinformal

   To take an amount of money from someone's pay or account, often as a penalty.

   Grammar: Takes an object and often an amount: dock me $20. The object comes between 'dock' and 'me'.

   Patterns

   • dock me something
   • dock me for something

   My boss docked me $50 for being late three times this month.

   The referee docked me two points for a false start.

   If you break the equipment, the company will dock me the repair cost.

2. 2phrasetransitiveinformal

   To reduce someone's score or points, especially in a competition or game.

   Grammar: Used with points or marks: dock me points. Often passive: I was docked points.

   Patterns

   • dock me points
   • dock me marks

   The judge docked me points for missing a step in my routine.

   They docked me marks because my essay was submitted a day late.

   In the final round, the panel docked me two points for hesitation.

Common combinations

dock someone's pay

The manager threatened to dock my pay if I left early again.

dock points

The teacher docked points for every spelling mistake.

dock someone for something

They docked me for not wearing the correct uniform.

Synonyms and how they differ

fine

To make someone pay a penalty, usually as a punishment; 'fine' is more formal and often used in legal contexts, while 'dock' is informal and about reducing pay or points.

deduct

To take away an amount from a total; 'deduct' is neutral and common in finance, while 'dock' implies a penalty and is more informal.

Opposites

Word family

dock verb

To reduce someone's pay or points as a punishment; the base form of the phrase.

Commonly confused: dock me or doc me?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “dock me”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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