beck

1 of 3

verb

ˈbek 

becked; becking; becks

transitive verb

archaic

: beckon

beck

2 of 3

noun (1)

1

chiefly Scotland : bow, curtsy

2

a

: a beckoning gesture

b

: summons, bidding

see also:

at one's beck and call

beck

3 of 3

noun (2)

British

: creek sense 1

Synonyms of beck

Noun (2)

• brook
• creek

Examples of beck in a Sentence

Noun (2)

when we were lads, we raced our toy boats in the narrow beck that bordered the lane

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

All 228 rooms come with a personal butler, who’s at your beck and call 24/7. — Condé Nast, cntraveler.com, 7 Oct. 2026

Other competitors will likely put up barriers, which kills the fun of having AI at your beck and call. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 5 Oct. 2026

Wellbeing Butlers are at your beck and call to arrange reiki, gratifyingly strong massages in open air, cleansing Balinese ceremonies at the resort temple, or sunrise qi gong on the practically private sand. — Kathryn Romeyn, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Sep. 2026

That’s their job, to just be there, to be there at the beck and call of Palisadians. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English bekken, shortened from bekenen "to give a mute signal," with the n perhaps being taken as the infinitive ending — more at beckon

Noun (1)

Middle English becke, bekke "mute signal, signal of command, bow," noun derivative of bekken "to give a mute signal" — more at beck entry 1

Noun (2)

Middle English bek, from Old Norse bekkr; akin to Old English bæc brook, Old High German bah, Lithuanian bėgti to flee — more at phobia

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing beck

• at one's beck and call
• at someone's beck and call

Rhymes for beck

• breck
• check
• cheque
• czech
• deck
• fleck
• keck
• mech
• neck
• peck
• reck
• sec

Kids Definition

beck

noun

ˈbek

: a beckoning gesture