Knap

/næp/ noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·College level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A sudden, sharp blow, knock, or slap; a rap, a whack.
  • Grammar: knap is listed as noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: break off, chip, cut off, flaked.
  • Usage evidence: He hath made warres to ceaſſe in all the worlde: he hath broken the bowe, he hath knapped the ſpeare in ſonder, ⁊ brẽt [brent] the charettes in the fyre.

How to use "knap"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "knap" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "knap" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "knap" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "knap" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "knap" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "break off" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "knap", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A sudden, sharp blow, knock, or slap; a rap, a whack. dialectal
  2. 2
    A piece of raised ground or a short, steep slope; a small hill; a hillock, a knoll. UK, dialectal

    "[Y]ou ſhall ſee many fine ſeats ſet upon a knap of ground, environed vvith higher hills round about it; […]"

  3. 3
    The sound made by such a blow, knock, or slap. dialectal

    "Foot Stomp […] The sole of the attacker's foot covers the victim's foot without actually touching it. The sounds of the attacker's heel striking the floor creates the knap. The victim adds vocal and physical pain reactions."

  4. 4
    The crest or top of a hill. UK, dialectal

    "the highest part and knap of the same Iland"

  5. 5
    Synonym of chattering damsel (“a component of a traditional mill which creates a vibratory motion to impel portions of grain toward the millstone; a clapper”). dialectal
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    A method of cheating at a dice game. figuratively, obsolete

    "'Tis your pence a piece, / […] / Preſto begon? or come aloft? VVhat vvay? / Doublets? or Knap? The Cog? lovv Dice? or high?"

Verb
  1. 1
    To break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap. transitive

    "He hath made warres to ceaſſe in all the worlde: he hath broken the bowe, he hath knapped the ſpeare in ſonder, ⁊ brẽt [brent] the charettes in the fyre."

  2. 2
    To take a small, quick bite at or of (someone or something); to nibble, to nip, to snap. UK, dialectal, transitive

    "I vvould ſhee vvere as lying goſſippe in that, as euer knapt Ginger, or made her neighbors beleeue ſhe vvept for the death of a third husband: […]"

  3. 3
    Obsolete spelling of nap (“to arrest (someone); to grab or nab (someone or something); to steal (something); (obsolete) to receive (severe punishment), especially during a boxing match or a flogging; (generally) to receive (something)”). UK, alt-of, dialectal, obsolete, transitive

    "Some entered the ring in very bad condition, and immediately got a-piping, like hot mutton pies—fell on their own blows, and knapped it every round, till they shewed the white feather and bolted."

  4. 4
    break a small piece off from wordnet
  5. 5
    To break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap.; To break away flakes from (a brittle material which fractures conchoidally (“with planar concentric curves”), usually a mineral such as chert, flint, or obsidian), often to form a tool with a sharp edge or point. especially, specifically, transitive

    "An average workman will knap 3,000 flints in a day of 12 hours, but a good one will make 4,000 at a pinch."

Show 10 more definitions
  1. 6
    To take a small, quick bite. UK, dialectal, intransitive

    "[In Thomas Elyot's book The Boke Named the Governour (1531)] vvere ſome ſharp and quick ſentences; vvhich many of the ſparks could not vvell bear. They complained of his ſtrange terms, as they called them. Theſe Elyot compared to a galled horſe abiding no plaiſters, that vvere alvvays knapping and kicking at ſuch examples and ſentences as they felt ſharp, or did bite them."

  2. 7
    strike sharply wordnet
  3. 8
    To strike (something) sharply; to knock, to rap. transitive

    "Take one Veſſel of Siluer, and another of VVood, and fill each of them full of VVater, and then knap the Tongs together, as before, about an handfull from the Bottome, and you ſhall finde the Sound much more Reſounding from the Veſſel of Siluer, than from that of VVood: […] ſuch a Communication paſſeth farre better, thorovv VVater, than Aire."

  4. 9
    Followed by off: to break (something) away from another thing by striking or tapping sharply. transitive

    "VVith his rod […] he knapt of the uppermoſt heads and tops of the poppies."

  5. 10
    To say (something) crisply or sharply. figuratively, transitive

    "[T]he evil spirit of the year sixteen hundred and forty-twa is at wark again as merrily as ever, and ilka [every] auld wife in the chimley-neuck will be for knapping doctrine wi' doctors o' divinity and the godly fathers o' the church."

  6. 11
    To break or fracture suddenly; to snap. intransitive

    "In ſtringinge of your bovv […] you muſt mark the fit length of youre bovve. […] Yf it [the string] be longe, the bendynge muſt nedes be in the ſmal of the ſtring, vvhich beynge ſore tvvined muſte nedes knap in ſunder to yͤ diſtruction of manye good bovves."

  7. 12
    To make a cracking or snapping sound; to crack, to snap. intransitive

    "If the Thigh-bone be luxated invvard, and the Patient young and of a tender Conſtitution, it may be reduced by the Hand of the Chirurgeon: […] [H]e muſt ſuddenly force the Knee up tovvards the Belly, and preſs back the head of the Femur into its Acetabulum, and it vvill knap in."

  8. 13
    To strike sharply. intransitive
  9. 14
    To speak crisply or sharply. figuratively, intransitive
  10. 15
    To cheat while gambling, especially at a dice game. figuratively, intransitive, obsolete

Synonyms

All synonyms
break offchipcut offflakedrap

Example

"He hath made warres to ceaſſe in all the worlde: he hath broken the bowe, he hath knapped the ſpeare in ſonder, ⁊ brẽt [brent] the charettes in the fyre."

Common questions

What does "knap" mean?

A sudden, sharp blow, knock, or slap; a rap, a whack.

What is a synonym for "knap"?

Common synonyms include: break off, chip, cut off, flaked, rap.

How do you use "knap" in a sentence?

He hath made warres to ceaſſe in all the worlde: he hath broken the bowe, he hath knapped the ſpeare in ſonder, ⁊ brẽt [brent] the charettes in the fyre.

How do you pronounce "knap"?

Pronounced /næp/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

The verb is derived from Late Middle English knappen (“to strike (something)”); further etymology uncertain, probably related to Middle Dutch knappen, cnappen (“to break (something) with a sharp sound, snap; to crack or crackle”) (modern Dutch knappen), probably ultimately onomatopoeic. The noun is derived from Late Middle English knap, knappe (“sharp blow, strike”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from the verb (see above), or related to an ancestor of Danish knep and Swedish knäpp (“a flick, rap, snap”), probably ultimately onomatopoeic.

Etymology 2

From Middle English knap, knappe (“small projection, knob (button, tassel, tuft, etc.); hill; hilltop; etc.”), from Old English cnæp, cnæpp (“summit, top”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Old Norse knappr (“small projection, knob (button, head of a stick, etc.)”) (whence English knop), from Proto-Germanic *knappô, *knuppô.

Etymology 3

Origin uncertain; possibly: * from Middle English *kneppen (compare Middle English knippette (“pincers for cracking nuts”)), from Old Norse kneppa (“to pinch, press, squeeze; to button, clasp; to hug”), from Proto-Germanic *knappijaną (“to clamp; to squeeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *gnebʰ- (“to constrict, tighten; to press”); * related to knap (etymology 1); or * imitative of a mouth snapping shut; compare gnap (“to snap at”) (obsolete except Scotland), nab (“to bite gently, nibble”) (obsolete except Southern and Western England).

Etymology 4

See nap (etymology 5).

More for "knap"

Synonyms

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