noun
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an object, usually ornamental and made of metal, attached to a door by a hinge and used for knocking
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informal a person who finds fault or disparages
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slang (usually plural) a female breast
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a person or thing that knocks
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informal promptly; at once
you pay on the knocker here
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of knocker
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at knock, -er 1
Vocabulary lists containing knocker
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:
The ancient wooden doors are adorned with an ornate metal knocker and a small grilled window, for guards to peek through.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
"Stay close to Troy or they gonna think you're a knocker."
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2021
“I’m a short knocker, but that Roberts hit the ball a mile. They knew they had the tournament in the bag, so they played like a couple of hackers on the 18th.”
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 21, 2020
When guests come calling, they’ll announce their arrival using her original door knocker: a metal kitchen trivet.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 5, 2019
A dwarflike being with legs as thick as tree trunks: knocker.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
Elphick said the vandals had removed two door knockers from the statue which were a nod to the 1986 fantasy film Labyrinth which Jones had co-written.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
Thousands of calls to voters buttressed by hundreds of paid door knockers fanning out across neighborhoods full of voters — mostly Latino — who liked Caruso but were less likely to vote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2022
But the door knockers didn’t explain where to vote or promote a candidate, the usual work of canvassers ahead of a big election.
From Reuters ● Nov. 3, 2022
In two hours on the water, the pairs of polers, who stood steering with 20-foot poles, and knockers, who rained rice into the canoe until it formed a thick, green-brown carpet, gathered about 35 pounds.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
I'll tie fifty threads, I thought-telegrammed her, to fifty door knockers.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
