A dock is a container which can hold a collection of dialogs together at a specific location. To activate any dialog, just click on its tab located on the dock.
GIMP comes with three default docks:
• the Brushes, Patterns, Fonts, Gradients and Document History dock in the upper part of the right panel;
• the lower portion of the right panel is where the Layers, Channels, and Paths dock.
• the Tool Options, Device Status, Undo History, and Images dock under the Toolbox in the left panel.