cog

/kɔg/

Thân thiện

A small cog turns inside a large, complex machine.

Definition

1. Noun:

   • A tooth on the rim of a gear wheel: A single projecting part on the edge of a gear that meshes with another gear to transmit motion.
   • A subordinate who performs an important but routine function: A person who is a small but necessary part of a large organization or system.

2. Verb:

   • To join pieces of wood with cogs: To fasten wooden beams or joints together using a type of mortise and tenon joint that employs a cog (a projecting tenon).
   • To roll steel ingots: To reduce the size of steel ingots by passing them through a rolling mill.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • One broken cog can cause the entire machine to stop.
  • He felt like just another cog in the vast corporate bureaucracy.

• Verb:

  • The carpenter will cog the beams together for a stronger frame.
  • The factory uses heavy machinery to cog the hot steel into shape.

Advanced Usage

• "a cog in the machine": A person who is a small, seemingly insignificant part of a large organization or system.
  • In the new job, I'm just a cog in the machine, but I'm learning a lot.

Variants and Related Words

• Cogwheel (n): A wheel with cogs or teeth; a gear.
  • The clock's mechanism is driven by a series of cogwheels.

Synonyms

• Noun (tooth): Tooth, sprocket.
• Noun (person): Underling, functionary, drone.

Related Phrases

• To slip a cog (idiom): To make a mistake; to err.
  • The accountant must have slipped a cog; these numbers don't add up.

Học thuật

Noun

1. tooth on the rim of gear wheel
2. a subordinate who performs an important but routine function
   • he was a small cog in a large machine

Verb

1. join pieces of wood with cogs
2. roll steel ingots

Từ đồng nghĩa

• sprocket