Meaning & use
necking
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Meanings
noununcountableinformalold-fashioned
Kissing and cuddling passionately, usually between two people who are dating or attracted to each other.
Grammar: No plural and no article: there was a lot of necking, not a necking.
Patterns
- necking with someone
- necking in something
Their parents warned them about necking in the back row of the cinema.
The film showed teenagers necking in a parked car after the school dance.
There was plenty of necking going on at the end-of-term party.
noununcountableinformalBritish
The act of drinking something quickly, usually an alcoholic drink, in large gulps.
Grammar: Comes from the verb neck a drink; used as a noun for the activity.
Patterns
- the necking of something
The necking of shots was the main event at the stag party.
Fast necking of cheap lager is how the evening usually began.
Teachers talked to the students about the dangers of necking spirits.
Common combinations
- heavy necking
- The film was banned for scenes of heavy necking.
- go necking
- In the fifties, couples would drive to the lake to go necking.
- caught necking
- He was caught necking behind the gym by the caretaker.
- necking in the back seat
- Necking in the back seat was a rite of passage in many old movies.
- necking on the sofa
- Their daughter came downstairs and found them necking on the sofa.
Synonyms and how they differ
- making out
- Making out is the usual modern phrase for the same activity, and it sounds more natural to younger speakers than necking.
- snogging
- Snogging is British and informal, and it usually suggests longer, more energetic kissing than the gentler, older-sounding necking.
- petting
- Petting is also dated but is broader, as it can include touching beyond kissing, whereas necking centers on kissing around the neck and face.
- smooching
- Smooching is lighter and more affectionate in tone, and may describe a single romantic kiss rather than an extended session.
Word family
Commonly confused: necking or necklacing?
necking vs necklacing
Necklacing is a different and violent word, not a kind of kissing; do not mix it up with necking.
Practice
Which word would a modern teenager most naturally use instead of the old-fashioned necking?
Choose one answer.
Making out is the current informal equivalent of necking. Hand-holding is only touching hands, dating is a relationship, and chatting up is just talking flirtatiously.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “necking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.