knife

[nahyf]

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.

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.

knife

/ 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

verb

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

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

Other Word Forms

• knifelike adjective
• knifer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of knife¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of knife¹

Old English cnīf; related to Old Norse knīfr, Middle Low German knīf

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

   The patient was under the knife for four hours.

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

Example Sentences

Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, was shot dead by police outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue after a car and knife attack that saw two Jewish men killed.

From BBC

“They put their knife on me and they grabbed my bag, and they took all of my stuff and all of my jewelry,” he told the news service.

From Los Angeles Times

And it was community volunteers and private security guards who held back the doors against the assailant, after he rammed the gates with a car and then attacked worshippers with a knife.

From BBC

However, the parole hearing on Tuesday heard confirmation that he had admitted involvement since being in prison, but denies stabbing Stephen or using a knife.

From BBC

The singer, who earned the moniker the Voice of an Angel at the height of her fame, said that reading media coverage at the time "felt like a knife to the skin".

From BBC

Related Words

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