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.
See Examples For:
The former Fulham man is direct and evidently has an eye for goal, with a happy knack for scoring in big games.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
His happy knack of playing big in big games has continued as well.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
He is governing and loathsome, with a knack for manipulation that merely foreshadows what audiences witness in the film’s second half.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2026
“It’s hard because of the body of work, he just has that knack to get a hit, to get a big hit.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Ralph Myers's story of the crime was pretty far-fetched; his knack for dramatic embellishment made even the most basic allegations unnecessarily complicated.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
While there's nothing wrong with a little decluttering, you don't have to shed your quirky knick knacks if you don't want to.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2022
“Just the little knicks and knacks that Kyle brought to me, that’s when I learned the most,” Oliver said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2019
And those shops and restaurants won’t be selling typical theme-park knick knacks or carnival cuisine.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2019
I’m just a fan of knick knacks and it’s a cool little music man robot.
From The Verge ● May 18, 2018
The furniture and knick- knacks that came with the house were on display.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
