knock
Americanverb (used without object)
-
knocks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
knocked,
past participle, past
-
knocking
present participle
-
to strike a sounding blow with the fist, knuckles, or anything hard, especially on a door, window, or the like, as in seeking admittance, calling attention, or giving a signal.
to knock on the door before entering.
-
to strike in collision; bump.
He knocked into a table.
-
to make a pounding noise.
The engine of our car is knocking badly.
-
Informal. to engage in trivial or carping criticism; find fault.
-
Cards. to end a game, as in gin rummy, by laying down a hand in which those cards not included in sets total less than a specific amount.
verb (used with object)
-
knocks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
knocked,
past participle, past
-
knocking
present participle
-
to give a sounding or forcible blow to; hit; strike; beat.
-
to drive, force, or render by a blow or blows.
to knock a man senseless.
-
to make by striking a blow or blows.
to knock a hole in the wall.
-
to strike (a thing) against something else.
-
Informal. to criticize, especially in a carping manner.
He's always knocking everything.
-
British Slang. to astound; impress greatly.
noun
-
knocks
plural
-
an act or instance of knocking.
-
the sound of knocking, especially a rap, as at a door.
-
a blow or thump.
-
Informal. an adverse criticism.
-
the noise resulting from faulty combustion or from incorrect functioning of some part of an internal-combustion engine.
-
Cricket. an innings.
-
British Slang.
-
one of a combination of dealers who bid together, rather than against each other, at an auction, and later resell the purchases among themselves.
-
an auction at which this is done.
-
the sale of merchandise recently obtained by a dealer at an auction.
-
verb phrase
-
knock up
-
Slang. to make pregnant.
-
to exhaust; weary; tire.
-
to damage; mar.
The children knocked up the new table.
-
to injure; wound.
He was afraid to come home from school all knocked up again.
-
British. to wake up; rouse; call.
He knocked us up before dawn.
-
-
knock together to make or construct in a hurry or with little attention to detail.
He knocked together a couple of tables.
-
knock around / about
-
to wander aimlessly or idly; loaf.
-
to mistreat (someone), especially physically.
-
to jar; shake up.
-
-
knock off
-
Informal. to cease activity, especially work.
to knock off at five every day.
-
to stop doing something; quit.
Knock it off or you'll get into a mess.
-
Slang. to dispose of; finish.
-
Slang. to murder; kill.
-
Slang. to die.
-
Slang. to get rid of; reduce.
-
Slang. to disable or defeat.
-
Slang. to commit a robbery at; steal from.
The gang knocked off a gas station.
-
Nautical Slang. to blow the head (of a sailing vessel) off the wind.
-
to imitate, copy, or plagiarize.
to knock off designer dresses in cheap materials.
-
-
knock back to drink (a beverage), especially quickly and heartily.
He knocked back two shots of vodka.
-
knock out
-
to defeat (an opponent) in a boxing match by striking such a blow that the opponent is unable to rise within the specified time.
-
to render (a person) unconscious.
Those sleeping pills knocked me out for ten hours.
-
to make tired or exhausted.
Christmas shopping always knocks me out.
-
Informal. to produce quickly, hurriedly, or with ease.
He knocks out two poems a day.
-
to damage or destroy.
The explosion knocked out the power for several hours.
-
-
knock over
-
to strike (someone or something) from an erect to a prone position.
to knock over a lamp.
-
to distress; overcome.
When the announcement came we were completely knocked over.
-
Slang. to rob, burglarize, or hijack.
He knocked over five banks.
-
-
knock down
-
to sell at auction by a blow of the hammer or to a bidder.
-
to take apart or disassemble, as for facility in handling, storing, shipping, etc.
-
Slang. to receive, as a salary or a scholastic grade; earn.
He knocks down 30 grand a year.
-
Informal. to lower the price of; reduce.
to knock down end-of-season leftovers.
-
Slang. to embezzle or steal (money).
-
to cause (a sailing vessel) to heel, as by a gust of wind, to such a degree that it cannot right itself.
-
idioms
-
knock out of the box, to cause a pitcher to be removed from the box because the pitcher has permitted too many hits to be made. Also knock out.
-
knock the / one's socks off, to have an overwhelming effect on.
The song knocked the socks off the audience.
-
have it knocked, to be assured of success.
With a government job, he thought he had it knocked.
verb
-
(tr) to give a blow or push to; strike
-
(intr) to rap sharply with the knuckles, a hard object, etc, esp to capture attention
to knock at the door
-
(tr) to make or force by striking
to knock a hole in the wall
-
to collide (with)
-
(tr) to bring into a certain condition by hitting or pushing
to knock someone unconscious
-
informal (tr) to criticize adversely; belittle
to knock someone's work
-
Also: pink. (intr) (of an internal-combustion engine) to emit a characteristic metallic noise as a result of faulty combustion
-
(intr) (of a bearing, esp one in an engine) to emit a regular characteristic sound as a result of wear
-
slang to have sexual intercourse with (a person)
-
informal to hit a person with a very heavy blow
-
to have a violent or unpleasant encounter with (adverse facts or circumstances)
-
-
to daze or kill (a person) by striking on the head
-
effectively to prevent the further development of (a plan)
-
noun
-
-
a blow, push, or rap
he gave the table a knock
-
the sound so caused
-
-
the sound of knocking in an engine or bearing
-
informal a misfortune, rebuff, or setback
-
informal unfavourable criticism
-
informal (in cricket) an innings or a spell of batting
Usage
What is a basic definition of knock? Knock is a verb that means to hit something by bumping into it. Knock also means to repeatedly strike something to make a noise. Knock is used as a noun to mean a sound made by repeated tapping. Knock has many other senses as a verb and a noun. It is also used in several idioms. Knock means to strike something by bumping into it or colliding with it. This sense of knock is often followed by what was bumped into (knocked onto the floor).
- Real-life examples: In bowling, the goal is to knock down all of the pins with a bowling ball. In boxing, the competitors repeatedly knock each other in the head and body with their fists. It is difficult to build a house of cards without accidentally knocking it over.
- Used in a sentence: Shawna wasn’t paying attention and accidentally knocked over a stack of boxes.
- Used in a sentence: He knocked on the wall with his umbrella to get everyone’s attention.
- Used in a sentence: I think you have a visitor because I heard a knock at the door.
Synonym Usage
See strike.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
knocksimple
-
knockssimple
-
have knockedperfect
-
has knockedperfect
-
am knockingprogressive
-
are knockingprogressive
-
is knockingprogressive
-
have been knockingperfect progressive
-
has been knockingperfect progressive
Past
-
knockedsimple
-
had knockedperfect
-
was knockingprogressive
-
were knockingprogressive
-
had been knockingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of knock
First recorded before 1000; 1890–95 knock for def. 4; Middle English knokken, knoken (verb), Old English cnocian, cnucian; cognate with Old Norse knoka “to thump, knock”
Explanation
When you knock, you bump or strike someone or something. When you hear a knock at the door, someone on the other side is thumping it with their knuckles. You can accidentally knock your grandmother's special glass bowl off the table, and you can also knock softly on her door — or tap with your knuckles — before you go in and tell her how sorry you are. If a car engine knocks, it makes a rattling or rapping sound. Colloquially, to knock something is to reject or criticize it, and if you do, you may hear the phrase, "Don't knock it until you try it!"
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.
See Examples For:
Also encouraging was the performance of Cox, whose knock also built on a slow start and followed an impressive run in the Test side against Pakistan.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
This week in the Don’t Short Yourself newsletter, Genna Contino shared her own plan to knock out $7,500 in credit-card debt.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Plus, if you are a tinkerer, homeownership allows you to knock down walls without a landlord’s permission.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The robot was agile enough to complete 10 consecutive somersaults in 11 seconds, even while wind disturbances tried to knock it away from its intended path.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
I nodded vaguely at my bag, which had fallen when I’d tried to knock him over.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Outwardly at least, nothing knocks him out of his stride.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Palmer and Colwill were given the freedom to go shopping after picking up knocks against Spurs, but videos of their outing showed just how well-known they were.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
"When someone knocks on your door and tells you: 'Get up, come on, leave here. This is real, you have to go.'"
From Barron's ● Jul. 11, 2026
When one door closes, opportunity knocks on another.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Emilika knocks at the door three more times in the next two days, asking if her advice has solved Danuta’s problem.
From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron
On a dry summer day, workers ran for their lives as a deluge of water knocked out pumps and electrical equipment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Stone work has been renovated and a partition wall between the two houses has been knocked down to create a light and airy space which shows off the historic architecture and living plants.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
They knocked on the door of the Anaheim residence Thursday morning and found Nguyen inside and the vehicle parked in the garage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Then I knocked another $350 off the tab by cashing in 35,000 American Express points.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
Something knocked the underside of the raft, throwing it off-kilter, and Clare dropped to all fours, crying out for Gingersnipes as she tumbled around but managed to stay aboard.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
While Brooks canvassed for the state’s largest progressive community action organization, she thought about one of her first interactions knocking doors this cycle.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
A powerful autumnal storm lashed the heavily populated US Northeast corridor on Sunday with wind, rain and large waves, knocking out power for thousands and killing at least one person.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Ibrahim was with his mother, Aster Fissehatsion, staying with her sister when he remembers security agents knocking on the door early in the morning and taking her away in her pyjamas.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Two months later, police were knocking on their door.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
I slam the table, knocking over a few of the chess pieces.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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.
