knife

[nahyf]

noun, plural knives [nahyvz] /naɪvz/.

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), knifed, knif·ing.

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), knifed, knif·ing.

to move or cleave through something with or as if with a knife: The ship knifed through the heavy seas.

Idioms

under the knife, in surgery; undergoing a medical operation: The patient was under the knife for four hours.

Origin of knife

before 1100; Middle English knif, Old English cnīf; cognate with Dutch knijf, German Kneif, Old Norse knīfr

Related formsknife·like, adjectiveknif·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for knifes

bayonet, dagger, blade, sword, skewer, machete, sickle, cutter, scalpel, lance, steel, shank, point, edge, cutlass, sabre, switchblade, scythe, bolo, stiletto

Examples from the Web for knifes

Contemporary Examples of knifes

Many of them, she said, were carrying stones and knifes in their handbags and backpacks, and weren't the least bit afraid.
Neda: Cautionary Tale or Inspiration?
Azadeh Moaveni
June 23, 2009

Historical Examples of knifes

So what do we get—we get knifes in the faces, saps on the head—a concussion, you tell me!
Police Your Planet
Lester del Rey
Give us some plates, any knifes, and some forks, rinse the glasses.
Seeing and Hearing
George W. E. Russell
Then he leaps forward alone—he has taken his boots off—and knifes the Priest.
One-Act Plays
Various
Quivering in the very center of its upper panel was a small knife, and impaled on the knifes blade was the macaroon.
Dorothy Dixon and the Double Cousin
Dorothy Wayne
Do you think any of those old Aztec priests, with their knifes of glass, will sacrifice you on a stone altar?
Tom Swift in the City of Gold, or, Marvelous Adventures Underground
Victor Appleton

British Dictionary definitions for knifes

knife

noun plural knives (naɪvz)

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

have one's knife in someone to have a grudge against or victimize someone

twist the knife to make a bad situation worse in a deliberately malicious way

the knives are out for someone British people are determined to harm or put a stop to someonethe knives are out for Stevens

under the knife undergoing a surgical operation

verb (tr)

to cut, stab, or kill with a knife

to betray, injure, or depose in an underhand way

Derived Formsknifelike, adjectiveknifer, noun

Word Origin for knife

Old English cnīf; related to Old Norse knīfr, Middle Low German knīf

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

Word Origin and History for knifes

knife

late Old English cnif, probably from Old Norse knifr, from Proto-Germanic *knibaz (cf. Middle Low German knif, Middle Dutch cnijf, German kneif), of uncertain origin. To further confuse the etymology, there also are forms in -p-, e.g. Dutch knijp, German kneip. French canif "penknife" (mid-15c.) is borrowed from Middle English or Norse.

knife

1865, from knife (n.). Related: Knifed; knifing.

Idioms and Phrases with knifes

knife

see at gunpoint (knifepoint); under the knife; you could cut it with a knife.