From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcogcog /kɒɡ $ kɑːɡ/ noun [countable] 1 Ta wheel with small bits sticking out around the edge that fit together with the bits of another wheel as they turn in a machine2 Tone of the small bits that stick out on a cog3 → a cog in the machine/wheel
Examples from the Corpus
cog• When processes are so complex nobody really understands them, employees feel like anonymous cogs in a big machine.• The lime kiln belly rotated on giant cogs into the dark of the next chamber.• He's joined the Liberal Party, and now he's a very important cog in the cabinet.• I hear them in there pry up his forehead like a manhole cover, clash and snarl of jammed cogs.• They were like cogs working together, fitting into place when and where they were needed.• Our cog was a sturdy merchantman escorted by a small man-of-war.• Silver Reed and Knitmaster owners should make sure the patterning cogs spin freely.• The steering is pin sharp and the delicate gearshift absolutely superb, swapping the cogs with a velvet action.Origin cog (1200-1300) From a Scandinavian language 