Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Knock

//nɒk// name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A suburb and ward in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
  2. 2
    A townland in Drumcliff civil parish, County Clare, Ireland.
  3. 3
    A town and civil parish of County Mayo, Ireland, location of the Knock Shrine.
  4. 4
    A settlement in Moray council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NJ5552).
  5. 5
    A village on the Isle of Lewis, Western Isles council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NB4931).
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    A village in Long Marton parish, Westmorland and Furness, Cumbria, England, previously in Eden district (OS grid ref NY6827).
  2. 7
    A surname.
Noun
  1. 1
    An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood. countable, uncountable

    "It came to me, like a knock on the door / Erasing all that had gone before / Broken wings can be mended / But this love of ours, we've got to defend it"

  2. 2
    the act of hitting vigorously wordnet
  3. 3
    A sharp impact. countable, uncountable

    "He took a knock on the head."

  4. 4
    negative criticism wordnet
  5. 5
    A criticism. countable, figuratively, informal, uncountable

    "Since forming in 2007 Mumford & Sons have hard-toured their way to a vast market for throaty folk that's strong on banjo and bass drum. They have released two enormous albums. But, wow, do they take some knocks back home."

Show 8 more definitions
  1. 6
    a bad experience wordnet
  2. 7
    A blow or setback. countable, figuratively, informal, uncountable

    ""Come on!" cried Mr. Beaver, who was almost dancing with delight. "Come and see! This is a nasty knock for the Witch! It looks as if her power was already crumbling.""

  3. 8
    the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing) wordnet
  4. 9
    Preignition, a type of abnormal combustion occurring in spark ignition engines caused by self-ignition; also, the characteristic knocking sound associated with it. uncountable
  5. 10
    a vigorous blow wordnet
  6. 11
    A batsman's innings. countable, slang, uncountable

    "He had a good knock and scored well."

  7. 12
    A ball hit into play, especially one that becomes a hit. countable, uncountable

    "He played a slow but sure knock of 35."

  8. 13
    Synonym of hunger knock. uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood. intransitive

    "Knock on the door and find out if they’re home."

  2. 2
    find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws wordnet
  3. 3
    To strike for admittance; to rap upon, as a door. dated, transitive

    "Master, knock the door hard."

  4. 4
    deliver a sharp blow or push wordnet
  5. 5
    To criticize verbally; to denigrate; to undervalue. colloquial, transitive

    "Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it."

Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    knock against with force or violence wordnet
  2. 7
    To kick a ball towards another player; to pass. transitive
  3. 8
    rap with the knuckles wordnet
  4. 9
    To hit a ball into play. transitive

    "Despite enjoying more than their fair share of possession the visitors did not look like creating anything, with their lack of a killer ball painfully obvious as they harmlessly knocked the ball around outside the home side's box without ever looking like they would hurt them."

  5. 10
    sound like a car engine that is firing too early wordnet
  6. 11
    To impress forcibly or strongly; to astonish; to move to admiration or applause. British, dated, slang, transitive
  7. 12
    make light, repeated taps on a surface wordnet
  8. 13
    To bump or impact. ambitransitive, dated

    "I knocked against the table and bruised my leg."

  9. 14
    To have sex with. slang, transitive
  10. 15
    To prosecute under the law; to arrest, imprison, etc. slang, transitive

    "The cops had busted us for selling hot designer bags up on Utica Avenue for some cat who figured we was too young to get knocked if we got caught, but two fat white po-pos said fuck how young we was, and threw us in a cell for damn near three days until they could contact Noojie to come get us out."

  11. 16
    To end play by declaring one's hand to have under a certain amount of deadwood. intransitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English knokken, from Old English cnocian, ġecnocian, ġecnucian, cnucian (“to knock, pound on, beat”), from Proto-West Germanic *knokōn, from Proto-Germanic *knukōną (“to knock”), a suffixed form of *knu-, *knew- (“to pound on, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gnew-, *gen- (“to squeeze, pinch, kink, ball up, concentrate”). The English word is cognate with Middle High German knochen (“to hit”), Old English cnuian, cnuwian (“to pound, knock”), Old Norse knoka (compare Danish knuge (“to squeeze”), Swedish knocka (“to hug”)).

Etymology 2

From Middle English knokken, from Old English cnocian, ġecnocian, ġecnucian, cnucian (“to knock, pound on, beat”), from Proto-West Germanic *knokōn, from Proto-Germanic *knukōną (“to knock”), a suffixed form of *knu-, *knew- (“to pound on, beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gnew-, *gen- (“to squeeze, pinch, kink, ball up, concentrate”). The English word is cognate with Middle High German knochen (“to hit”), Old English cnuian, cnuwian (“to pound, knock”), Old Norse knoka (compare Danish knuge (“to squeeze”), Swedish knocka (“to hug”)).

Etymology 3

(Ireland, Scotland, Cumbria) from Irish cnoc and Scottish Gaelic cnoc

See also for "knock"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: knock