noun
-
a skilful, ingenious, or resourceful way of doing something
-
a particular talent or aptitude, esp an intuitive one
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of knack
1325–75; Middle English: trick; perhaps same word as knak sharp-sounding blow, rap, cracking noise (imitative)
Explanation
If you have a knack for doing something, you do it well. You may have a knack for baking cakes or a knack for cracking jokes. These things come easy to you. Although the noun knack refers to a special talent, the sense is that it is a more innate talent — as opposed to a certain technique. So if someone instinctively has a talent for fixing plumbing, for example, you can say they have a knack for it. If, however, they unclog a sink by having a wrench in one hand and a how-to book in the other, then they may have the technique, but they probably don't have the knack.
Vocabulary lists containing knack
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Girl Who Drank the Moon
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Just Mercy
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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.
The brand—known for its jogger pants as well as attire for tennis, golf and other sports—grew out of California, gaining cachet for its knack for men’s activewear.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 23, 2026
She could turn her knack for apartment hunting into something more.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Yet he possesses an uncanny knack for actually hitting the ball straight.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Wes Streeting had the knack of displaying empathy and understanding of people's health challenges and frustration at NHS failings and delays.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
“I’d bet the moon itself he’s all right. That Faucet fellow has a knack for survival, and self-invention, too.”
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
