docking

Etymology 1

From dock + -ing.

verb

1. present participle and gerund of dock

Etymology 2

From Middle English dockyng, equivalent to dock + -ing.

noun

1. The process of cutting off or trimming the tail or ears of an animal.
2. (nautical) The securing of a vessel to the quayside with cables.
3. (astronautics) The process of connecting one spacecraft to another.
4. (sexuality, slang) The sex act involving two men co-joined by their penises, with overlapping foreskins.
5. (molecular biology) A method which predicts the preferred orientation of one molecule to a second when bound to each other to form a stable complex.