knife

American  

[nahyf] / naɪf /

noun

plural

knives

1. an instrument for cutting, consisting essentially of a thin, sharp-edged, metal blade fitted with a handle.

2. a knifelike weapon; dagger or short sword.

3. any blade for cutting, as in a tool or machine.

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verb (used with object)

knifed, knifing

1. to apply a knife to; cut, stab, etc., with a knife.

2. to attempt to defeat or undermine in a secret or underhanded way.

verb (used without object)

knifed, knifing

1. to move or cleave through something with or as if with a knife.

   The ship knifed through the heavy seas.

idioms

1. under the knife, in surgery; undergoing a medical operation.

   The patient was under the knife for four hours.

knife British  

/ naɪf /

noun

1. a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp-edged often pointed blade of metal fitted into a handle or onto a machine

2. a similar instrument used as a weapon

3. to have a grudge against or victimize someone

4. to make a bad situation worse in a deliberately malicious way

5. people are determined to harm or put a stop to someone

   the knives are out for Stevens

6. undergoing a surgical operation

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verb

1. to cut, stab, or kill with a knife

2. to betray, injure, or depose in an underhand way

knife More Idioms  

1. see at gunpoint (knifepoint); under the knife; you could cut it with a knife.

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Other Word Forms

• knifelike adjective
• knifer noun

Etymology

Origin of knife

before 1100; Middle English knif, Old English cnīf; cognate with Dutch knijf, German Kneif, Old Norse knīfr

Example Sentences

In previous administrations, he said, “You would never want to be seen holding the knife.”

From The Wall Street Journal

He said he had done self-defence training at MI5's London headquarters, Thames House, with a ninjutsu instructor, describing it as "swords and knives and stuff".

From BBC

One of the oldest pieces of Wall Street wisdom—that you should never try to catch a falling knife—says they mostly were.

From The Wall Street Journal

If I was washing out clothes in the basin or sharpening the point on my homemade knife when the ants appeared, I stopped The Hidi ng Place at once to give them my full attention.

From Literature

It was like a knife you could cut through time, a hole you could punch in the universe.

From Literature

Related Words

• bayonet
• blade
• cutter
• dagger
• machete
• scalpel
• sickle
• skewer
• sword