beck

n. a movement of the head or hand used to call someone over or give a command.

n. a significant nod or gesture of the hand intended as a summons or command; almost exclusively used in the phrase 'at someone's beck and call'.

“As the boss's assistant, she had to be at his beck and call all day.”

“The junior associates were expected to be at the senior partner's beck and call, regardless of the hour or the nature of the task.”

Literary

n. a small river or a stream.

n. a small watercourse or stream, particularly one with a stony bed.

“The children spent the afternoon splashing in the shallow beck behind the farm.”

“The hiking trail follows the course of a narrow beck that tumbles down from the fells into the valley below.”

British English · Dialect

v. to give a signal by nodding or moving your head.

v. to gesture or signal using a motion of the head.

“The old man becked to the boy to come closer and listen.”

“In the dim light of the tavern, the stranger becked silently toward the corner table, indicating that we should join him.”

Archaic