knock off

British  

verb

1. informal (intr, also preposition) to finish work

   we knocked off an hour early

2. informal (tr) to make or do hastily or easily

   to knock off a novel in a week

3. informal (tr; also preposition) to reduce the price of (an article) by (a stated amount)

4. slang (tr) to kill

5. slang (tr) to rob or steal

   to knock off a bank

   to knock off a watch

6. slang (tr) to stop doing something, used as a command

   knock it off!

7. slang (tr) to have sexual intercourse with; to seduce

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noun

1. informal

   1. an illegal imitation of a well-known product

   2. ( as modifier )

      knockoff watches

knock off Idioms  

1. Take a break or rest from, stop, especially quit working. For example, He knocked off work at noon , or Let's knock off at five o'clock . [ Colloquial ; mid-1600s] Also see knock it off .

2. Also, knock out . Dispose of or produce easily or hastily, finish, as in A writer of detective novels, he knocks off a book a year , or We can knock out a rough drawing in a few minutes . The first colloquial usage dates from the early 1800s, the variant from the mid-1800s.

3. Get rid of, reduce, as in She knocked off twelve pounds in a month , or They knocked off one-third of the original price . [ Colloquial ; early 1800s]

4. Kill, murder, as in They decided to knock off the old lady . [ Slang ; early 1900s] Also see knock someone's block off .

5. Copy or imitate, especially without permission, as in They are knocking off designer Swiss watches and selling them for a few dollars . [ Colloquial ; late 1800s]

6. Hold up, rob, as in The gang knocked off two liquor stores in half an hour . [ Slang ; early 1900s] Also see knock the socks off .

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Example Sentences

The Lakers need to play near-perfect basketball to have a chance to knock off the defending champions.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

McCollum knew how to knock off a national champion because, for much of his coaching life, he’d been a national champion himself.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026

Conway didn't knock off a world record, but he did edge past McKenzie in another way, with his sixth Test century -- one more than the South African.

From Barron's • Dec. 18, 2025

Bowlers have contemplated heavy duty machinery to knock off either man.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2025

I was going to hike New England, or at least as much of it as I could knock off until Katz returned in seven weeks to walk with me through Maine’s Hundred Mile Wilderness.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• dispatch
• dispose of
• eliminate
• snuff out
• whack