knock down

verb

1. to strike to the ground with a blow, as in boxing

2. (in auctions) to declare (an article) sold, as by striking a blow with a gavel

3. to demolish

4. to dismantle, for ease of transport

5. informal,  to reduce (a price, etc)

6. slang,  to spend (a cheque)

7. slang,  to drink

adjective

1. overwhelming; powerful

   a knockdown blow

2. cheap

   I got the table at a knockdown price

3. easily dismantled

   knockdown furniture

noun

1. slang,  an introduction

   will you give me a knockdown to her?

Idioms and Phrases

Take apart for storage or shipping, as in We need to knock down this chest to ship it safely overseas . [Mid-1900s]

Declare sold at an auction, as by striking a blow with a gavel. For example, That was the last bid, and the first edition was knocked down for only three hundred . [Mid-1700s]

Reduce the price of, as in They knocked it down by another hundred dollars , or An overabundant harvest will knock down corn prices . [ Colloquial ; mid-1800].

Earn as wages, as in She knocks down a hundred grand a year . [ Slang ; 1920s]

Steal, embezzle, as in He was caught knocking down the box-office receipts . This usage may be obsolescent. [ Slang ; mid-1800s] Also see knock over , def. 2.

Related Words

• annihilate 
• bulldoze 
• crush 
• decimate 
• devastate 
• dilapidate 
• dismantle 
• flatten 
• obliterate 
• overturn 
• pulverize 
• raze 
• ruin 
• smash 
• trash 
• wreck