knob
Americannoun
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a projecting part, usually rounded, forming the handle of a door, drawer, or the like.
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a rounded lump or protuberance on the surface or at the end of something, as a knot on a tree trunk.
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Architecture. an ornamental boss, as of carved work.
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a rounded hill, mountain, or elevation on a ridge.
verb (used with object)
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to produce a knob on.
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to furnish with a knob.
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(in stone cutting) to knock off (excess stone) preparatory to dressing; knobble; skiffle.
noun
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a rounded projection from a surface, such as a lump on a tree trunk
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a handle of a door, drawer, etc, esp one that is rounded
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a round hill or knoll or morainic ridge
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taboo a slang word for penis
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informal the same to you but even more so
verb
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(tr) to supply or ornament with knobs
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(intr) to form into a knob; bulge
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taboo to have sexual intercourse with (someone)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of knob
1350–1400; Middle English knobbe < Middle Low German
Explanation
You can use the word knob for any bump or bulge, like the egg-shaped knob on your head after you bumped it on the door knob. Along the same likes as a bulging lump or protuberance, a knob is also a handle that juts out and is round shaped. The knobs on your dresser might be glass or porcelain, while the knobs on your kitchen cabinets could be made of chrome. There are also the knobs, or controls, on your old fashioned TV or radio, and the knob that's basically a lump or hunk, like a knob of butter.
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.
The opening notes incur full-body goosebumps in an August summer heat just from the power of being in its presence out at Pine Knob, the famed outdoor amphitheater located in the Detroit suburbs.
From Salon • Aug. 19, 2025
They claim - in a light-hearted way - that the same groundhog has been predicting the weather at Gobbler's Knob for more than100 years.
From BBC • Feb. 2, 2025
In a full embrace of the singer, civil leaders erected a statue of Bennett outside the Fairmont Hotel atop Knob Hill as a 90th birthday present.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2023
Carroll Franklin Cooley was born on Aug. 25, 1935, in Bald Knob, Ark. With the Great Depression luring people west for opportunities, he soon moved with his family to Phoenix.
From New York Times • Jun. 8, 2023
Ishmael turned west on Indian Knob Hill Road, and they passed the Masuis’ strawberry fields and then the Thorsens’ milk cow barn and Patsy Larsen’s chicken houses.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
