knickknack

or nick·nack

[ nik-nak ]

/ ˈnɪkˌnæk /

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See synonyms for: knickknack / knickknacks on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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Origin of knickknack

1610–20; gradational compound based on knack in obsolete sense “toy”

OTHER WORDS FROM knickknack

knickknacked, adjectiveknickknacky, adjective

Words nearby knickknack

Knickerbocker, knickerbocker glory, knickerbockers, knickered, knickers, knickknack, knickpoint, Knies, Kniest syndrome, knife, knife box

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use knickknack in a sentence

The next few hours were a flurry of vacuuming and dusting as my mother chain-smoked her way through the house rearranging knickknacks.
Puerto Rican pernil is a standout Thanksgiving roast. Just guard that crispy skin.|Monti Carlo|November 18, 2021|Washington Post
Nearly 175 of Capone’s personal items will be auctioned off as his granddaughters seek to share the stories behind his knickknacks, photographs and guns.
Mobster Al Capone’s granddaughters are selling his possessions, partly out of fear of wildfires|Marisa Iati|August 25, 2021|Washington Post
The girls helped to make the cave more homelike, and the lads appreciated every decoration and knickknack given them.
Tramping with Tramps|Josiah Flynt
“Perhaps one or two smaller things, a knickknack or two,” he moaned.
The Inevitable|Louis Couperus

He well represented the spirit and workmanship of the eighteenth century in the knickknack art of the Second Empire.
Rodin: The Man and his Art|Judith Cladel

British Dictionary definitions for knickknack

knick-knack

nick-nack

/ (ˈnɪkˌnæk) /

noun

a cheap ornament; trinket

an ornamental article of furniture, dress, etc

Derived forms of knick-knack

knick-knackery or nick-nackery, noun

Word Origin for knick-knack

C17: by reduplication from knack, in obsolete sense: toy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012