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

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

The ball inside would knock about, shattering the quiet night.

From Washington Post • Jun. 27, 2018

Even with the hundreds of millions of dollars in contract disputes, a mediator has only ruled to knock about $30 million off of what Northstar owes Illinois during the 10-year contract.

From Washington Times • Jun. 22, 2014

I would rather see you here alive and well, my dear fellow, than be told I had a fortune of a hundred thousand pounds left me, and need no longer knock about the salt ocean.

From The Voyages of the Ranger and Crusader And what befell their Passengers and Crews. by Kingston, William Henry Giles