knobby

[ nob-ee ]

/ ˈnɒb i /

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See synonyms for knobby on Thesaurus.com

adjective, knob·bi·er, knob·bi·est.

full of or covered with knobs: the knobby trunk of a tree.

shaped like a knob.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of knobby

First recorded in 1535–45; knob + -y¹

OTHER WORDS FROM knobby

knob·bi·ness, noun

Words nearby knobby

knives, knob, knobble, knobbling roll, knobbly, knobby, knobcone pine, knobhead, knobkerrie, knob latch, knob lock

How to use knobby in a sentence

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.
How omicron’s mutations make it the most infectious coronavirus variant yet|Tina Hesman Saey|March 1, 2022|Science News
Li and colleagues used an electron microscope to zoom in on ossicles from several dozen dead knobby starfish.
A diamondlike structure gives some starfish skeletons their strength|Carolyn Wilke|February 10, 2022|Science News
It’s the knobby protein studding each coronavirus that helps the virus latch onto and invade human cells.
Why the coronavirus’s delta variant dominated 2021|Erin Garcia de Jesús|December 16, 2021|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.
We’re Losing Our Lawns. And That’s OK.|klindsey|October 29, 2021|Outside Online

In the way of unplugged children with nothing but time and imagination, I studied them, identifying faces in their knobby protuberances.
At Glacier’s Edge, the Flames Have Always Come for My Family Cabin|jversteegh|August 20, 2021|Outside Online
He saw a nose and a little, knobby chin and a bit of pinkish forehead with the pale yellow of hair above.
Cabin Fever|B. M. Bower
The knobs on the trunk of a young pine reminded Franz strongly of knobby-kneed young Hertha Bittner.
Rescue Dog of the High Pass|James Arthur Kjelgaard
The rest of his ruddy, knobby countenance, his erratic hair and his general hairy leanness had not even—to my perceptions grown.
Tono Bungay|H. G. Wells
Mr. Caslon leaped nimbly to one side and whacked the goat savagely across the back with his knobby stick.
Ruth Fielding At Sunrise Farm|Alice B. Emerson
A beggar's sack hangs down over his ragged clothing, his hand holds a knobby stick.
'Midst the Wild Carpathians|Mr Jkai

British Dictionary definitions for knobby

knobby

/ (ˈnɒbɪ) /

adjective -bier or -biest

having or covered with small knobs; knobbly

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

knobby

Origin of knobby

OTHER WORDS FROM knobby

Words nearby knobby

Words related to knobby

How to use knobby in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for knobby