knife
Americannoun
-
knives
plural
-
an instrument for cutting, consisting essentially of a thin, sharp-edged, metal blade fitted with a handle.
-
a knifelike weapon; dagger or short sword.
-
any blade for cutting, as in a tool or machine.
verb (used with object)
-
knifes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
knifed,
past participle, past
-
knifing
present participle
-
to apply a knife to; cut, stab, etc., with a knife.
-
to attempt to defeat or undermine in a secret or underhanded way.
verb (used without object)
-
knifes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
knifed,
past participle, past
-
knifing
present participle
idioms
noun
-
a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp-edged often pointed blade of metal fitted into a handle or onto a machine
-
a similar instrument used as a weapon
-
to have a grudge against or victimize someone
-
to make a bad situation worse in a deliberately malicious way
-
people are determined to harm or put a stop to someone
the knives are out for Stevens
-
undergoing a surgical operation
verb
-
to cut, stab, or kill with a knife
-
to betray, injure, or depose in an underhand way
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
knifesimple
-
knifessimple
-
have knifedperfect
-
has knifedperfect
-
am knifingprogressive
-
are knifingprogressive
-
is knifingprogressive
-
have been knifingperfect progressive
-
has been knifingperfect progressive
Past
-
knifedsimple
-
had knifedperfect
-
was knifingprogressive
-
were knifingprogressive
-
had been knifingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of knife
before 1100; Middle English knif, Old English cnīf; cognate with Dutch knijf, German Kneif, Old Norse knīfr
Explanation
A knife is a sharp tool that's used for slicing or cutting. We suggest using a knife as a kitchen tool instead of as a weapon. A bread knife has a long, serrated edge, and the blade of a pocket knife folds into its handle so you can safely carry it in your pocket. Surgeons use very small knives to make delicate cuts during operations, and various kinds of knives are sometimes used as weapons. To knife, in fact, is to stab or cut with a knife, almost always in a violent way.
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 43-year-old male driver of the vehicle was detained by civilians, Mason said, before being arrested by police, who found a knife in his car.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
Cameron Winter had one last knife to twist for the Dodger faithful in the audience at Hollywood Forever on Thursday night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Police recovered from the flat a knife with Nurse's blood on it, a bag marked "HMP valuables" and prison records in Sabat's name.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
I published one of the first R.E.M. fanzines, sitting at my kitchen table in my third-floor Hoboken tenement walkup with an X-Acto knife and a glue stick.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
It had a whisk for a TV antenna and a cushion from the sofa for a bed, and I cut out windows with the big, sharp knife.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
Air regulations ban all blades with sharp points and typically blunt knives longer than six centimeters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
He spent nearly NZ$6,000 in a single day on a haul of goods which include food, children's clothing, gardening supplies, fishing gear, knives and lighters, among other things, the inquiry found.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
It was also uniquely hazardous because waste in dumpsters can include items such as knives, glass, needles, batteries and vermin, Menchaca said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Carpets, washing machines, furniture, fridges and even knives, forks and spoons are set to have tariffs applied by Canada.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
Primus's eyes fell upon the knives upon the wood of the tabletop.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
And then he retraced his steps across the 150-foot wide thoroughfare that knifes through the heart of the city along what once was the Red Car line of the Pacific Electric Railway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 20, 2026
Speaking to broadcasters during a visit to Kilburn police station in north west London, Mr Sunak said there was "no reason" why such knifes should be on the streets.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2023
He spent nearly $600,000 on the rocking chair John F. Kennedy used in the White House, and another $550,000 for one of Abraham Lincoln’s pocket knifes.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2022
Take Can a woman win the election: a sly, mean, ego-saving little canard that knifes both its subject and its verb in order to spare the real actor here.
From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2020
The fluorescent light knifes me in the eyes, and the smell of pies and sauce makes me want to vomit.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
Rickea Jackson, with her wiry strength and burst, knifed past defenders as Dearica Hamby mixed bruising post work with feather-soft finishes and Azurá Stevens — the most versatile of the bunch — filled every gap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2025
Al-Shifa was the same hospital where Jihad had been born five months earlier — five months of searching all day for a little food, of nearly getting knifed over a little flour.
From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2024
Evans knifed to the basket for a layup that gave capped a 9-0 run and gave Chicago its first double-digit lead at 30-19 early in the second quarter.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
He pointed his arms to the clear spring sky, knifed by the vapor trails of passing airplanes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 16, 2023
As his shovel knifed through the dirt, he carefully kept the sod intact so that it could be replaced later.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
He’d hit just a single shot from the field before he came knifing through the lane in transition with just over four minutes remaining.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2025
Van Lith, whose first basket came on a knifing drive for a layup with 1:43 left in the second quarter, had two jumpers blocked by Beal and three turnovers in the first half.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2022
Bolsonaro, 66, has been in the Sao Paulo hospital since Wednesday for treatment relating to an obstructed intestine following the 2018 knifing.
From Reuters ● Jul. 17, 2021
He scored 22 points and had seven assists in 19 minutes before halftime, knifing through the paint and juking Washington defenders as if on skates with his repaired Achilles’ tendon.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2021
“Don’t turn the light on—” she said hastily, fearing the harsh, knifing blast of fluorescence.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
