knock about
Britishverb
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(intr, adverb) to wander about aimlessly
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(intr, preposition) to travel about, esp as resulting in varied or exotic experience
he's knocked about the world a bit
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to associate
to knock about with a gang
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(tr, adverb) to treat brutally
he knocks his wife about
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(tr, adverb) to consider or discuss informally
to knock an idea about
noun
adjective
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Also, knock around.
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Be rough or brutal with, maltreat, as in He was known to knock his wife about on a regular basis . [c. 1800]
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Wander from place to place, as in They were knocking around Europe all summer . [ Colloquial ; c. 1830]
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Discuss or consider, as in They met to knock about some new ideas . [Mid-1900s] Also see kick around .
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.
The 10% tariff would knock about 0.1% to 0.2% off the affected countries’ gross domestic product, Goldman Sachs’ chief European economist Sven Jari Stehn estimated in a research note.
From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026
Today, we'll knock about 40 degrees off that number.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 28, 2022
As a result, her children knock about in similar versions of dishonesty and distress, which can lead to reader fatigue.
From New York Times • Feb. 21, 2020
The ball inside would knock about, shattering the quiet night.
From Washington Post • Jun. 27, 2018
There I had to knock about for myself and earn my own living, at an age when most boys are carefully looked after by their parents.
From Tom, The Bootblack or, The Road to Success by Alger, Horatio
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.
