knobby

[ nob-ee ]

adjective

, knob·bi·er, knob·bi·est.

1. full of or covered with knobs:

   the knobby trunk of a tree.

2. shaped like a knob.

ˈknobby

/ ˈnɒbɪ /

adjective

1. having or covered with small knobs; knobbly

Other Words From

• knobbi·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of knobby¹

First recorded in 1535–45; knob + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Their analysis revealed more than 60 mutations, including 42 changes alone in omicron’s spike protein — the knobby structure on the surface of the virus that initiates a cell break-in and can help evade antibody defenses.

From Science News

Li and colleagues used an electron microscope to zoom in on ossicles from several dozen dead knobby starfish.

From Science News

It’s the knobby protein studding each coronavirus that helps the virus latch onto and invade human cells.

From Science News

I was seven years old and hanging upside down—knobby knees slung over the trapeze bar, blond hair dragging through the grass—when the birds tried telling me something.

From Outside Online

In the way of unplugged children with nothing but time and imagination, I studied them, identifying faces in their knobby protuberances.

From Outside Online

He saw a nose and a little, knobby chin and a bit of pinkish forehead with the pale yellow of hair above.

From Project Gutenberg

The knobs on the trunk of a young pine reminded Franz strongly of knobby-kneed young Hertha Bittner.

From Project Gutenberg

The rest of his ruddy, knobby countenance, his erratic hair and his general hairy leanness had not even—to my perceptions grown.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Caslon leaped nimbly to one side and whacked the goat savagely across the back with his knobby stick.

From Project Gutenberg

A beggar's sack hangs down over his ragged clothing, his hand holds a knobby stick.

From Project Gutenberg