knacker

[ nak-er ]

noun

, British.

1. a person who buys animal carcasses or slaughters useless livestock for a knackery or rendering works.
2. a person who buys and dismembers old houses, ships, etc., to salvage usable parts, selling the rest as scrap.
3. Dialect. an old, sick, or useless farm animal, especially a horse.
4. Obsolete. a harness maker; a saddler.

knacker

/ ˈnækə /

noun

1. a person who buys up old horses for slaughter
2. a person who buys up old buildings and breaks them up for scrap
3. slang.
   usually plural another word for testicle
4. slang.
   a despicable person

verb

1. slang.
   tr; usually passive to exhaust; tire

Word History and Origins

Origin of knacker¹

1565–75; knack (< Scandinavian; compare Icelandic hnakkr nape of the neck, saddle) + -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of knacker¹

C16: probably from nacker saddler, probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse hnakkur saddle

Example Sentences

I felt forced to follow, and soon found myself outside a knacker's yard.

From Project Gutenberg

"Now so surely as I am Kurt, the Knacker, there is more in this priestling than meets the eye," he muttered.

From Project Gutenberg

One of the guardsmen held out a full ox-horn of wine, and the Knacker seized it and forced it into Constans's hand.

From Project Gutenberg

A harsh croak greeted him, and he recognized the crippled sailor who called himself Kurt the Knacker.

From Project Gutenberg

Old horses, fit but for the knacker's yard, and burdened till they could barely stand, were being goaded forward through the mud.

From Project Gutenberg