chockablock

adj, adv — 3 senses

chockablock

adj

/ˈt͡ʃɒkəˌblɒk/

Etymology From chock + -a- + block.

1

Nautical, Transport Of a ship's hoisting tackle Having the blocks drawn close together so no further movement is possible, as when the tackle is hauled to the utmost.

2

Broadly Jammed tightly together, jam-packed; very crowded; completely filled or stuffed.

  • Dance music is chockablock with anonymous artists, but few have concealed themselves with quite the dedication of the Knife.2009 March 27, Alexis Petridis, “Electronic review: Fever Ray, Fever Ray”, in The Guardian:
  • Haberman’s book is chockablock with scoops, comprehensively leaked to the press before publication, but what singles it out from the competition is its perceptiveness about Trump’s character and the way his private vices became public menaces.2022 October 9, Peter Conrad, “Confidence Man: The Making of Trump and the Breaking of America review […] ”, in The Observer:
1 more example
  • Fish is chockablock full of protein.2024 March 18, Allison Aubrey, “Millions of women are 'under-muscled.' These foods help build strength”, in NPR:
Derived terms
chock, chocka, chocker, chockers, chokka
Related terms
chock full

chockablock

adv

Etymology From chock + -a- + block.

1

In a crowded manner; as completely or closely as possible.

  • His study had books stacked chockablock on every shelf.
  • The meeting hall was chockablock full of angry citizens.
1 more example
  • AMERICA is full of vast, empty spaces. Europe, by contrast, seems chock-a-block with humanity, its history shaped by a lack of continental elbowroom.2012 October 13, “Free exchange: Concrete gains”, in The Economist:
Related terms
chockful, chockfull, chock-full, chock full

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.