What does "knocker" mean?
A device, usually hinged with a striking plate, used for knocking on a door.
Knocker
name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A device, usually hinged with a striking plate, used for knocking on a door.
- Grammar: knocker is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: backbiter, bag, belittler, boob.
- Useful contrasts: doorbell, nonvisitor.
- Usage evidence: Holmes had his hand upon the knocker, when the door opened and a grave young gentleman in black, with a very shiny hat, appeared on the step.
How to use "knocker"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "knocker" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- 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 "knocker" 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 "knocker" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "knocker" 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 "knocker" is acting as name, noun, slang 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 "backbiter" 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 "knocker", 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 A device, usually hinged with a striking plate, used for knocking on a door.
"Knockers in this part of the world seem intended for ornament only, — nobody seems to pay any attention to them when they’re used."
- 2 a device (usually metal and ornamental) attached by a hinge to a door wordnet
- 3 A person who knocks.
"He was a loud knocker. Despite my usual timidity, after a bit I opened the door."
- 4 either of two soft fleshy milk-secreting glandular organs on the chest of a woman wordnet
- 5 A critic; one who disparages.
""I try to give everybody credit," declared the old man. "I am not a knocker. I am not too good for this world.""
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 one who disparages or belittles the worth of something wordnet
- 7 A person who knocks (denigrates) something. derogatory, informal
- 8 a person who knocks (as seeking to gain admittance) wordnet
- 9 A person's breast, especially if large. plural-normally, slang
- 10 (Yiddish) a big shot who knows it and acts that way; a boastful immoderate person wordnet
- 11 A dwarf, goblin, or sprite imagined to dwell in mines and to indicate the presence of ore by knocking. archaic
- 12 A mechanical device in a pinball table that produces a loud percussive noise.
"A good game needs color, lights, bells, gongs, and knockers, all to assure the player he is making progress[…]"
- 13 A person who is strikingly handsome or otherwise admirable; a stunner. dated, slang
- 14 A large cockroach, especially Blaberus giganteus, of semitropical America, which is able to produce a loud knocking sound.
- 15 A large, boulder-shaped outcrop of bedrock in an otherwise low-lying landscape, chiefly associated with a mélange.
- 16 One who defaults on payment of a wager. slang
"To the consternation of those who believed that bookies were 'knockers' (defaulters), he paid his losses with alacrity […]"
- 17 A gun. slang
"Lay down on that 'Tussin, I think I'ma snooze (Like, like what?) We keep knockers like this shit essential .22 long rifles, these bullets like pencils Homicide, bodies drop when we bend through"
- 18 An undercover policeman. slang
"The knockers around better do what I say so"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"Holmes had his hand upon the knocker, when the door opened and a grave young gentleman in black, with a very shiny hat, appeared on the step."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "knocker"?
Common synonyms include: backbiter, bag, belittler, boob, boobs, bosom.
How do you use "knocker" in a sentence?
Holmes had his hand upon the knocker, when the door opened and a grave young gentleman in black, with a very shiny hat, appeared on the step.
Etymology
From knock + -er.