knife
Americannoun
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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)
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knifes,
present (3rd person singular)
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knifed,
past participle, past
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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
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a similar instrument used as a weapon
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to have a grudge against or victimize someone
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to make a bad situation worse in a deliberately malicious way
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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
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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
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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:
In a league where job security these days ranks somewhere between knife juggler and gator wrangler, the 44-year-old Spaniard is one of only three managers even hired before 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
“As a boy, I’d start weeping. And boys don’t cry; I’d blubber. I couldn’t help it — it was like a knife going into me. And my father said, ‘What’s the matter with you?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
During searches of Ahmadzai's home, officers claimed to have recovered and seized a replica pistol and a knife.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Use only a light dusting of flour, cut with a sharp knife and handle the dough as little as possible.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Fa’s knife was beautiful and deadly, with a blade of banded blue slate shaped like a willow leaf, and a haft of red deer antler that was bound with elk sinew for a better grip.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Handheld multitools are a great item to keep on hand, with many options featuring various knives, bottle openers, screwdrivers, and even scissors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Arrabaca had two axes, a hammer, a machete, six fireworks and three fixed-blade knives, Barnacle said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
The knives were out, but he went again in the qualifiers for Euro 2024.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Why did he keep a box of knives under his bed?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
He could pick up forks, spoons, and knives easily.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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
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
From aged three to about seven or eight, we don't let the children go near the cooker or use sharp knifes - maybe just a round-ended knife.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2013
There was all sorts of sharp and dangerous-looking blades and razors and knifes setting behind where the barber stood whilst he was cutting hair.
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
Hunter knifed through the defense and broke for an 11-yard gain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
Anthony Macias knifed through the line to block a punt at the goal line, and Max Magana recovered the ball in the end zone to give Pacifica a 14-6 lead late in the first quarter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 7, 2024
He pointed his arms to the clear spring sky, knifed by the vapor trails of passing airplanes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 16, 2023
The setting sun seems to set the ocean ablaze, while to its left, the tossing slaver appears to be swallowed up by a knifed spray of white.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2022
A month later, on Rosebriar Road in Atlanta, an alarm clock knifed into the darkness of two o’clock in the morning.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
In their first game playing as Hoop Nation against Donda Academy on Friday night, he added a new dimension to the Huskies’ offense with knifing drives into the paint and a soft midrange touch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2022
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
The 66-year-old president was taken to the Sao Paulo hospital for treatment relating to an obstructed intestine following the 2018 knifing.
From Reuters ● Jul. 18, 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
She looked up from washing dishes and saw the river full of small sailboats leaning toward the far shore and knifing toward the bridge which was not in her view.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
Definitions 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.
