knockdown
capable of knocking something down; overwhelming; irresistible: a knockdown blow.
constructed in separate parts that can readily be taken apart for easy storage, shipping, etc.: a knockdown toolshed.
offered or acquired for less than the prevailing rate: first-rate goods at knockdown prices.
a knockdown object.
an act or instance of knocking down, especially by a blow.
something that fells or overwhelms.
reduction or lowering, as in price or number: The store offered a knockdown of 15 percent to its own employees.
Slang. an introduction, especially to a person: He gave me a real knockdown to the company.
Nautical. the capsizing of a small boat as a result of a strong gust of wind.
Origin of knockdown
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use knockdown in a sentence
The first in the room, to knock down the door, to break down the barriers, to pave the road that we all walk on.
Barbara Walters’s Final ‘The View’: A Tearful Farewell Befitting an Icon | Kevin Fallon | May 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWe would have to knock down some of the integrated air defense system of an adversary.
The effect would be to knock down California's gay-marriage ban on a technicality, without affecting the rest of the country.
Will the Supreme Court Dodge a Big Marriage Equality Decision? | David Frum | March 27, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIt's from there that we cut spending, knock down taxes, and unleash American innovation.
So this is what the right will try to do today—knock down the Benghazi narrative and accuse Crowley of bias.
The Day-After Spin: Will Any Conservatives Admit Their Guy Lost? | Michael Tomasky | October 17, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
But you've taken a knock-down blow in a sporting way, and I want to do the thing handsome.
The Everlasting Arms | Joseph HockingIf he had a little more force he would be able to knock down sinners better.
Our Churches and Chapels | AtticusTo pull down a wall was nothing, but to knock down the sentry was a more formidable thing.
The Cradle of Mankind | W.A. Wigram"They look as if their legs were going to knock down all the fence posts on the farm," he exclaimed.
The Tale of Pony Twinkleheels | Arthur Scott BaileySam Clemens, himself a practical joker in his youth, found a healthy delight in this knock-down humor of the Comstock.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete | Albert Bigelow Paine
British Dictionary definitions for knock down
to strike to the ground with a blow, as in boxing
(in auctions) to declare (an article) sold, as by striking a blow with a gavel
to demolish
to dismantle, for ease of transport
informal to reduce (a price, etc)
Australian slang to spend (a cheque)
Australian slang to drink
overwhelming; powerful: a knockdown blow
mainly British cheap: I got the table at a knockdown price
easily dismantled: knockdown furniture
US and Australian slang an introduction: will you give me a knockdown to her?
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with knockdown
Take apart for storage or shipping, as in We need to knock down this chest to ship it safely overseas. [Mid-1900s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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