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)
-
knifes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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
-
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:
But while Mosley captivated once again and Maiava came alive, it was Gary Patterson and the Trojans’ defense that really twisted the knife in a dominant 39-0 win for USC.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
There was the play in which freshman defensive end Luke Wafle ran through two Spartans blockers like a hot knife through butter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026
Away from the dock, I sat down with a tray of oysters and a stabby, plastic-handled knife.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Wales' only two-Michelin-star restaurant which received a one-star food hygiene rating after inspectors found flies, broken equipment and a dirty knife has had its five-star rating restored.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
‘Nothing,’ said Torak, eyeing the jagged bone knife at the Raven Leader’s belt.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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
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
They drew Silicon Valley investors, and the pair added Pokémon and sports cards, coins and eventually fashion, electronics and a wide range of other items, including knives, horse tack and live plants.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Why did he keep a box of knives under his bed?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026
Laleh couldn’t reach the plates, but she got out clean butter knives for us.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
A blocks-long motorcade glides along freeways closed to traffic and knifes through city streets cleared specially for her path.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
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
Hunter knifed through the defense and broke for an 11-yard gain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 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
Folsom threatened to regain the lead late in the third quarter, but Drew Cofield knifed through the line to block Lincoln Phelps’ 32-yard field-goal attempt and teammate David Montes recovered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2023
He pointed his arms to the clear spring sky, knifed by the vapor trails of passing airplanes.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 16, 2023
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
He didn’t shy from knifing through traffic and taking the ball to the basket, oftentimes hitting the floor hard.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2022
Point guard Ja Morant’s knifing drives into the defense is central to that — but he has also expanded his range.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 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
In profile, with pumping thighs and knifing arms, we cut through the shin-whipping grass.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
