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definitions

knickknack

or nick·nack

[nik-nak]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR knickknack ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an ornamental trinket or gimcrack; a bit of bric-a-brac.

RELATED WORDS

curio, ornament, bauble, souvenir, bric-a-brac, trifle, toy, thingamajig, frill, gadget, novelty, embellishment, whimsy, miniature, showpiece, bagatelle, curiosity, device, notion, plaything

Origin of knickknack

1610–20; gradational compound based on knack in obsolete sense “toy”
Related formsknick·knacked, adjectiveknick·knack·y, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for knickknack

Historical Examples of knickknack

  • “Perhaps one or two smaller things, a knickknack or two,” he moaned.

    The Inevitable

    Louis Couperus

  • The girls helped to make the cave more homelike, and the lads appreciated every decoration and knickknack given them.

  • He well represented the spirit and workmanship of the eighteenth century in the knickknack art of the Second Empire.