knoll
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to ring or toll a bell for; announce by tolling.
-
to ring or toll (a bell).
verb (used without object)
-
to sound, as a bell; ring.
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to sound a knell.
noun
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has knolledperfect 3rd person singular
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have knolledperfect
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have been knollingperfect progressive
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has been knollingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is knollingprogressive 3rd person singular
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knollingparticiple
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knollssingular 3rd person
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am knollingprogressive 1st person singular
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are knollingprogressive
Past
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had knolledperfect
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had been knollingperfect progressive
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were knollingprogressive plural
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knolledsimple
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knolledparticiple
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was knollingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of knoll1
before 900; Middle English cnol, Old English cnoll; cognate with Norwegian knoll hillock; akin to Dutch knol turnip, Icelandic knollur, German Knollen, Danish knold tuber
Origin of knoll2
1350–1400; Middle English (noun and v.); variant of knell
Explanation
A knoll is a small hill or mound of earth, which makes a shady knoll a perfect spot for a summer picnic. The word knoll is associated with the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was shot in Dallas just as his motorcade passed a grassy knoll. At first people thought that was where the shots had come from, but it was later determined that the assassin had fired from a nearby building instead. The "grassy knoll” became symbolic of a theory that others had participated in the assassination, and the term has become shorthand for any conspiracy theory.
Vocabulary lists containing knoll
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Animal Farm
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
From home bakers to professionals, influencers to non-bakers, everyone places their cakes on the tables stretching across the grassy knoll, with Sydney's famed Harbour Bridge as the backdrop.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
Beneath a standing canopy of western red cedar on a shady knoll near the entrance to the property, the Renaissance Garden references the tribe’s relatively brief history with the lumber mill in Port Gamble.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 16, 2023
With treelike structures, a green knoll and overhead chimes incorporating colorful carved birds, the 3,500-square-foot space exposes young minds to art’s most fundamental ingredients: materials.
From New York Times • Sep. 7, 2023
The multicolored toilet had been left in a grassy knoll near an AMC Theatre at the mall, GPD Sgt.
From Washington Times • Aug. 26, 2023
About half the animals on the farm rushed out to the knoll where the windmill stood.
From "Animal Farm: A Fairy Story" by George Orwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
