Adjacent Words

Knock definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

KNOCK, v.i. nok.
1. To strike or beat with something thick or heavy; as, to knock with a club or with the fist; to knock at the door. We never use this word to express beating with a small stick or whip.
2. To drive or be driven against; to strike against; to clash; as when one heavy body knocks against another.
To knock under, to yield; to submit; to acknowledge to be conquered; an expression borrowed from the practice of knocking under the table, when conquered.
KNOCK, v.t. nok. To strike; to drive against; as, to knock the head against a post.
1. To strike a door for admittance; to rap.
To knock down, to strike down; to fell; to prostrate by a blow or by blows; as, to knock down an ox.
To knock out, to force out by a blow or by blows; as, to knock out the brains.
To knock up, to arouse by knocking. In popular use, to beat out; to fatigue till unable to do more.
To knock off, to force off by beating. At auctions, to assign to a bidder by a blow on the counter.
To knock on the head, to kill by a blow or by blows.
KNOCK, n. nok. A blow; a stroke with something thick or heavy.
1. A stroke on a door, intended as a request for admittance; a rap.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing); "the knocking grew louder" [syn: knock, knocking]
2: negative criticism [syn: knock, roast]
3: a vigorous blow; "the sudden knock floored him"; "he took a bash right in his face"; "he got a bang on the head" [syn: knock, bash, bang, smash, belt]
4: a bad experience; "the school of hard knocks"
5: the act of hitting vigorously; "he gave the table a whack" [syn: knock, belt, rap, whack, whang] v
1: deliver a sharp blow or push :"He knocked the glass clear across the room" [syn: knock, strike hard]
2: rap with the knuckles; "knock on the door"
3: knock against with force or violence; "My car bumped into the tree" [syn: bump, knock]
4: make light, repeated taps on a surface; "he was tapping his fingers on the table impatiently" [syn: tap, rap, knock, pink]
5: sound like a car engine that is firing too early; "the car pinged when I put in low-octane gasoline"; "The car pinked when the ignition was too far retarded" [syn: pink, ping, knock]
6: find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws; "The paper criticized the new movie"; "Don't knock the food--it's free" [syn: knock, criticize, criticise, pick apart] [ant: praise]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English knoken, from Old English cnocian; akin to Middle High German knochen to press Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. to strike something with a sharp blow 2. to collide with something 3. a. bustle <heard them knocking around in the kitchen> b. wander <knocked about Europe all summer> 4. a. to make a pounding noise b. to have engine knock 5. to find fault transitive verb 1. a. (1) to strike sharply (2) to drive, force, or make by or as if by so striking <was knocked out of the campaign> b. to set forcibly in motion with a blow 2. to cause to collide 3. to find fault with <always knocking those in authority> II. noun Date: 14th century 1. a. a sharp blow ; rap, hit <a loud knock on the door> b. (1) a severe misfortune or hardship (2) setback, reversal 2. a. a pounding noise b. a sharp repetitive metallic noise caused by abnormal ignition in an automobile engine 3. a harsh and often petty criticism <the knock on him was that he couldn't handle the pressure>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 a tr. strike (a hard surface) with an audible sharp blow (knocked the table three times). b intr. strike, esp. a door to gain admittance (can you hear someone knocking?; knocked at the door). 2 tr. make (a hole, a dent, etc.) by knocking (knock a hole in the fence). 3 tr. (usu. foll. by in, out, off, etc.) drive (a thing, a person, etc.) by striking (knocked the ball into the hole; knocked those ideas out of his head; knocked her hand away). 4 tr. sl. criticize. 5 intr. a (of a motor or other engine) make a thumping or rattling noise esp. as the result of a loose bearing. b = PINK(3). 6 tr. Brit. sl. make a strong impression on, astonish. 7 tr. Brit. coarse sl. offens. = knock off 7. --n. 1 an act of knocking. 2 a sharp rap, esp. at a door. 3 an audible sharp blow. 4 the sound of knocking in esp. a motor engine. 5 Cricket colloq. an innings. Phrases and idioms: knock about (or around) 1 strike repeatedly; treat roughly (knocked her about). 2 lead a wandering adventurous life; wander aimlessly. 3 be present without design or volition (there's a cup knocking about somewhere). 4 (usu. foll. by with) be associated socially (knocks about with his brother). knock against 1 collide with. 2 come across casually. knock back 1 Brit. sl. eat or drink, esp. quickly. 2 Brit. sl. disconcert. 3 Austral. & NZ colloq. refuse, rebuff. knock-back n. Austral. & NZ colloq. a refusal, a rebuff. knock the bottom out of see BOTTOM. knock down 1 strike (esp. a person) to the ground with a blow. 2 demolish. 3 (usu. foll. by to) (at an auction) dispose of (an article) to a bidder by a knock with a hammer (knocked the Picasso down to him for a million). 4 colloq. lower the price of (an article). 5 take (machinery, furniture, etc.) to pieces for transportation. 6 US sl. steal. 7 Austral. & NZ sl. spend (a pay cheque etc.) freely. knock-down attrib.a adj. 1 (of a blow, misfortune, argument, etc.) overwhelming. 2 Brit. (of a price) very low. 3 (of a price at auction) reserve. 4 (of furniture etc.) easily dismantled and reassembled. --n. Austral. & NZ sl. an introduction (to a person). knock for knock agreement an agreement between insurance companies by which each pays its own policyholder regardless of liability. knock one's head against come into collision with (unfavourable facts or conditions). knocking-shop Brit. sl. a brothel. knock into a cocked hat see COCK(1). knock into the middle of next week colloq. send (a person) flying, esp. with a blow. knock into shape see SHAPE. knock-kneed having knock knees. knock knees an abnormal condition with the legs curved inwards at the knee. knock off 1 strike off with a blow. 2 colloq. a finish work (knocked off at 5.30). b finish (work) (knocked off work early). 3 colloq. dispatch (business). 4 colloq. rapidly produce (a work of art, verses, etc.). 5 (often foll. by from) deduct (a sum) from a price, bill, etc. 6 sl. steal. 7 Brit. coarse sl. offens. have sexual intercourse with (a woman). 8 sl. kill. knock on Rugby Football drive (a ball) with the hand or arm towards the opponents' goal-line. knock-on n. an act of knocking on. knock-on effect a secondary, indirect, or cumulative effect. knock on the head 1 stun or kill (a person) by a blow on the head. 2 colloq. put an end to (a scheme etc.). knock on (or knock) wood US = touch wood. knock out 1 make (a person) unconscious by a blow on the head. 2 knock down (a boxer) for a count of 10, thereby winning the contest. 3 defeat, esp. in a knockout competition. 4 sl. astonish. 5 (refl.) colloq. exhaust (knocked themselves out swimming). 6 colloq. make or write (a plan etc.) hastily. 7 empty (a tobacco-pipe) by tapping. 8 Austral., NZ, & US sl. earn. knock sideways colloq. disconcert; astonish. knock spots off defeat easily. knock together put together or assemble hastily or roughly. knock under submit. knock up 1 make or arrange hastily. 2 drive upwards with a blow. 3 a become exhausted or ill. b exhaust or make ill. 4 Brit. arouse (a person) by a knock at the door. 5 Cricket score (runs) rapidly. 6 esp. US sl. make pregnant. 7 practise a ball game before formal play begins. knock-up n. a practice at tennis etc. take a (or the) knock be hard hit financially or emotionally. Etymology: ME f. OE cnocian: prob. imit.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Knock Knock, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Knocked; p. pr. & vb. n. Knocking.] [OE. knoken, AS. cnocian, cnucian; prob. of imitative origin; cf. Sw. knacka.Cf. Knack.] 1. To drive or be driven against something; to strike against something; to clash; as, one heavy body knocks against another. --Bacon. 2. To strike or beat with something hard or heavy; to rap; as, to knock with a club; to knock on the door. For harbor at a thousand doors they knocked. --Dryden. Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. --Matt. vii. 7. To knock about, to go about, taking knocks or rough usage; to wander about; to saunter. [Colloq.] ``Knocking about town.'' --W. Irving. To knock up, to fail of strength; to become wearied or worn out, as with labor; to give out. ``The horses were beginning to knock up under the fatigue of such severe service.'' --De Quincey.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Knock Knock, n. 1. A blow; a stroke with something hard or heavy; a jar. 2. A stroke, as on a door for admittance; a rap. `` A knock at the door.'' --Longfellow. A loud cry or some great knock. --Holland. Knock off, a device in a knitting machine to remove loops from the needles.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Knock Knock (n[o^]k), v. t. 1. To strike with something hard or heavy; to move by striking; to drive (a thing) against something; as, to knock a ball with a bat; to knock the head against a post; to knock a lamp off the table. When heroes knock their knotty heads together. --Rowe. 2. To strike for admittance; to rap upon, as a door. Master, knock the door hard. --Shak. To knock down. (a) To strike down; to fell; to prostrate by a blow or by blows; as, to knock down an assailant. (b) To assign to a bidder at an auction, by a blow or knock; to knock off. To knock in the head, or on the head, to stun or kill by a blow upon the head; hence, to put am end to; to defeat, as a scheme or project; to frustrate; to quash. [Colloq.] -- To knock off. (a) To force off by a blow or by beating. (b) To assign to a bidder at an auction, by a blow on the counter. (c) To leave off (work, etc.). [Colloq.] -- To knock out, to force out by a blow or by blows; as, to knock out the brains. To knock up. (a) To arouse by knocking. (b) To beat or tire out; to fatigue till unable to do more; as, the men were entirely knocked up. [Colloq.] ``The day being exceedingly hot, the want of food had knocked up my followers.'' --Petherick. (c) (Bookbinding) To make even at the edges, or to shape into book form, as printed sheets.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Knock Knock, v. i. To practice evil speaking or fault-finding; to criticize habitually or captiously. [Vulgar Slang, U. S.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Knock Knock, v. t. To impress strongly or forcibly; to astonish; to move to admiration or applause. [Slang, Eng.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(knocks, knocking, knocked) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you knock on something such as a door or window, you hit it, usually several times, to attract someone's attention. She went directly to Simon's apartment and knocked on the door... He knocked before going in. VERB: V on/at n, V • Knock is also a noun. They heard a knock at the front door. N-COUNT • knocking They were wakened by a loud knocking at the door. N-SING: also no det 2. If you knock something, you touch or hit it roughly, especially so that it falls or moves. She accidentally knocked the tea tin off the shelf... Isabel rose so abruptly that she knocked down her chair... VERB: V n prep, V n with adv • Knock is also a noun. The bags have tough exterior materials to protect against knocks, rain and dust. N-COUNT 3. If someone knocks two rooms or buildings into one, or knocks them together, they make them form one room or building by removing a wall. They decided to knock the two rooms into one... The spacious kitchen was achieved by knocking together three small rooms. VERB: V pl-n into n, V pl-n with together 4. To knock someone into a particular position or condition means to hit them very hard so that they fall over or become unconscious. The third wave was so strong it knocked me backwards... Someone had knocked him unconscious. VERB: V n prep/adv, V n adj 5. To knock a particular quality or characteristic out of someone means to make them lose it. The stories of his links with the actress had knocked the fun out of him... Those people hurt me and knocked my confidence. VERB: no cont, V n out of n, V n 6. If you knock something or someone, you criticize them and say unpleasant things about them. (INFORMAL) I'm not knocking them: if they want to do it, it's up to them... VERB: V n 7. If someone receives a knock, they have an unpleasant experience which prevents them from achieving something or which causes them to change their attitudes or plans. What they said was a real knock to my self-confidence... = blow N-COUNT 8. to knock something on the head: see head to knock someone or something into shape: see shape

Easton's Bible Dictionary

"Though Orientals are very jealous of their privacy, they never knock when about to enter your room, but walk in without warning or ceremony. It is nearly impossible to teach an Arab servant to knock at your door. They give warning at the outer gate either by calling or knocking. To stand and call is a very common and respectful mode. Thus Moses commanded the holder of a pledge to stand without and call to the owner to come forth (Deut. 24:10). This was to avoid the violent intrusion of cruel creditors. Peter stood knocking at the outer door (Acts 12:13, 16), and the three men sent to Joppa by Cornelius made inquiry and 'stood before the gate' (10:17, 18). The idea is that the guard over your privacy is to be placed at the entrance."

Knocking is used as a sign of importunity (Matt. 7:7, 8; Luke 13:25), and of the coming of Christ (Luke 12:36; Rev. 3:20).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

nok (krouo): The oriental house was fitted with heavy doors which were bolted and locked with wooden keys too large to be carried about, so that even a member of the household could not secure entrance until in response to his knock or call the door should be opened by someone within. At night the delay would be increased by the difficulty of arousing the inmates sleeping within the inner chambers. To persons familiar with such experiences, the words of Jesus concerning a higher entrance, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Mt 7:7; Lu 12:36), would have a unique force not easy for us to appreciate.

Russell Benjamin Miller

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Rap (as at a door), clap. 2. Blow, slap, cuff, buffet, box. II. v. n. Rap (as at a door). III. v. a. Beat, strike, hit, bump, slap.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To knock a woman; to have carnal knowledge of her. To knock off; to conclude: phrase borrowed from the blacksmith. To knock under; to submit.

Moby Thesaurus

KO, abuse, adverse criticism, animadversion, arouse, aspersion, associate with, astonish, astound, awaken, bad notices, bad press, bang, bang into, bash, baste, bat, batter, beat, beat up, beating, belt, bewilder, biff, blame, blow, bob, bonk, bop, bowl over, buffet, bump, bump into, burst, bust, cannon, captiousness, carom, carom into, carp at, carping, cavil, caviling, censoriousness, censure, chop, clap, clash, clip, clobber, clock out, close down, clout, clump, coldcock, collide, come into collision, complete, concuss, condemn, condemnation, confront each other, conk, consort with, copy, crack, crack up, crash, crash into, criticism, criticize, crump, crunch, cuff, cut, cut down, dash, dash into, daze, deal, deal a blow, debate, deck, demolish, denounce, denunciate, deprecate, destroy, dig, dint, discuss, disparage, drub, drubbing, drumming, encounter, exception, fall foul of, faultfinding, fell, fetch, fetch a blow, finish, flail, flak, flap, flatten, floor, flop, foul, fusillade, gad about, get with child, go home, hairsplitting, hammer, hammering, hit, hit a clip, hit against, home thrust, hostile criticism, hurt, hurtle, hypercriticalness, hypercriticism, imitate, impinge, impregnate, improvise, imputation, insult, jab, kayo, kill, knock about, knock against, knock around, knock cold, knock down, knock off, knock out, knock over, knock together, knock unconscious, knock up, lambaste, larrup, lay in ruins, left, let have it, level, lick, lift, lock up, maltreat, manhandle, maul, meet, mistreat, nagging, nick, niggle, niggling, nit, nit-picking, obloquy, overcome, overcriticalness, overwhelm, pan, paste, patter, pelt, percuss, pestering, pettifogging, pilfer, pinch, plunk, poke, polish off, pommel, pound, pounding, priggishness, prostrate, pull down, pulverize, pummel, punch, put down, put together, quibble, quibbling, quit, ramble, rap, raze, reflection, report, reprehend, reproachfulness, reprobate, right, roam, rob, rove, run down, run into, sideswipe, skin, slam, slam into, slap, slat, sledgehammer, slog, slug, slur, smack, smack into, smash, smash into, smash up, smite, snap, snipe at, soak, sock, spank, splat, stagger, steal, stricture, strike, strike against, strike at, stroke, stun, swap, swat, swing, swipe, taking exception, talk over, tap, tattoo, terminate, thieve, thrash, thresh, throw down, thump, thwack, travel, trichoschistism, trounce, tunk, wake up, wallop, wander, whack, wham, whap, whip, whomp, whop, wipe, wreck, yerk