knock off

verb

1. informal,  (intr, also preposition) to finish work

   we knocked off an hour early

2. informal,  (tr) to make or do hastily or easily

   to knock off a novel in a week

3. informal,  (tr; also preposition) to reduce the price of (an article) by (a stated amount)

4. slang,  (tr) to kill

5. slang,  (tr) to rob or steal

   to knock off a bank

   to knock off a watch

6. slang,  (tr) to stop doing something, used as a command

   knock it off!

7. slang,  (tr) to have sexual intercourse with; to seduce

noun

1. informal

   1. an illegal imitation of a well-known product

   2. ( as modifier )

      knockoff watches

Idioms and Phrases

Take a break or rest from, stop, especially quit working. For example, He knocked off work at noon , or Let's knock off at five o'clock . [ Colloquial ; mid-1600s] Also see knock it off .

Also, knock out . Dispose of or produce easily or hastily, finish, as in A writer of detective novels, he knocks off a book a year , or We can knock out a rough drawing in a few minutes . The first colloquial usage dates from the early 1800s, the variant from the mid-1800s.

Get rid of, reduce, as in She knocked off twelve pounds in a month , or They knocked off one-third of the original price . [ Colloquial ; early 1800s]

Kill, murder, as in They decided to knock off the old lady . [ Slang ; early 1900s] Also see knock someone's block off .

Copy or imitate, especially without permission, as in They are knocking off designer Swiss watches and selling them for a few dollars . [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]

Hold up, rob, as in The gang knocked off two liquor stores in half an hour . [ Slang ; early 1900s] Also see knock the socks off .

Related Words

• dispatch 
• dispose of 
• eliminate 
• snuff out 
• whack