knobby

American  

[nob-ee] / ˈnɒb i /

adjective

knobbier, knobbiest

1. full of or covered with knobs.

   the knobby trunk of a tree.

2. shaped like a knob.

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knobby British  

/ ˈnɒbɪ /

adjective

1. having or covered with small knobs; knobbly

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Other Word Forms

• knobbiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of knobby

First recorded in 1535–45; knob + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Knobby, branching stems that grow 10 to 12 inches tall are topped with three to five buds.

From Seattle Times • May 14, 2022

Knobby stainless-steel sculptures by Tony Smith and angular geometric metal forms by Robert Morris contrast with the jumbled city beyond.

From Economist • Apr. 23, 2015

A sergeant nicknamed "Knobby," with a reputation for taking prisoners, led one eleven-man patrol out to capture a house.

From Time Magazine Archive

Knobby and his men, all veterans of 25 months overseas, simply disappeared, swallowed up in the dark ruins.

From Time Magazine Archive

Knobby roots rise out of the ground; they have caught floating trunks, across which the water pours, lifting and dropping the wet grasses that grow on the rotten stems.

From Two Years with the Natives in the Western Pacific by Speiser, Felix