knock about

British  

verb

1. (intr, adverb) to wander about aimlessly

2. (intr, preposition) to travel about, esp as resulting in varied or exotic experience

   he's knocked about the world a bit

3. to associate

   to knock about with a gang

4. (tr, adverb) to treat brutally

   he knocks his wife about

5. (tr, adverb) to consider or discuss informally

   to knock an idea about

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noun

1. a sailing vessel, usually sloop-rigged, without a bowsprit and with a single jib

adjective

1. rough; boisterous

   knockabout farce

knock about Idioms  

1. Also, knock around.

2. Be rough or brutal with, maltreat, as in He was known to knock his wife about on a regular basis . [c. 1800]

3. Wander from place to place, as in They were knocking around Europe all summer . [ Colloquial ; c. 1830]

4. Discuss or consider, as in They met to knock about some new ideas . [Mid-1900s] Also see kick around .

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Example Sentences

"There was a lot of money knocking about," he told ITV's Jonathan Ross Show.

From BBC

The ruling had the effect of knocking about $16 million off expected income from the property owners.

From Seattle Times

But regulators turned down the request last month, knocking about 20% off Metro's share price.

From BBC

It wasn’t a truant officer at his door, though — no one had ever come knocking about that.

From Seattle Times

An asteroid minding its own business not too far from Earth is about to get knocked about by a visitor from our planet.

From New York Times