knock up
Britishverb
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Also: knock together. informal to assemble quickly; improvise
to knock up a set of shelves
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informal to waken; rouse
to knock someone up early
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slang to make pregnant
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informal to exhaust
the heavy work knocked him up
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cricket to score (runs)
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(intr) tennis squash badminton to practise or hit the ball about informally, esp before a match
noun
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Make pregnant, as in The young girl said she was afraid of getting knocked up . [ Slang ; early 1800s]
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Injure or damage, as in This coffee table got all knocked up in the moving van .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Almost anyone can knock up a batch of scones, or fairy cakes, or a decent Victoria sponge, or even a Christmas cake without too much effort," Cloake said.
From Salon • Dec. 10, 2022
The current promo makes for an excellent collection of discounts, but if you have an eligible device to trade in, you can also knock up to an additional $450 off your purchase.
From The Verge • Apr. 16, 2022
Forecasters warn that with no resolution, the conflict could knock up to 0.5 percentage points off global growth through 2020.
From Fox News • Dec. 28, 2018
If app-store commissions fell to a blended rate of 5 to 15 percent, that would knock up to 21 percent off estimates of Apple’s earnings, before interest and tax, by fiscal 2020, Macquarie estimated.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 26, 2018
Here, Beta Moshi, cut a couple of young trees and knock up a ladder.
From Wilmshurst of the Frontier Force by Prater, Ernest
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.