knockout

[ nok-out ]

noun

1. an act or instance of knocking out.
2. the state or fact of being knocked out.
3. a knockout blow.
4. Informal. a person or thing overwhelmingly attractive, appealing, or successful.
5. a panel in a casing, can, or box, especially of metal or plastic, so designed that it can readily be removed, as by punching, hammering, or cutting, to provide an opening into the interior:

   a knockout in a junction box.

6. Machinery. a device for knocking something loose, as finished work from a lathe chuck.

adjective

1. that knocks out:

   the knockout punch.

knockout

/ ˈnɒkˌaʊt /

noun

1. the act of rendering unconscious
2. a blow that renders an opponent unconscious
3. 1. a competition in which competitors are eliminated progressively
   2. ( as modifier )

      a knockout contest

4. a series of absurd invented games, esp obstacle races, involving physical effort or skill
5. informal.
   a person or thing that is overwhelmingly impressive or attractive

   she's a knockout

verb

1. to render unconscious, esp by a blow
2. boxing to defeat (an opponent) by a knockout
3. to destroy, damage, or injure badly
4. to eliminate, esp in a knockout competition
5. informal.
   to overwhelm or amaze, esp with admiration or favourable reaction

   I was knocked out by that new song

6. to remove the ashes from (one's pipe) by tapping

Word History and Origins

Origin of knockout¹

1810–20; 1935–40 knockout fordef 4; noun, adj. use of verb phrase knock out

Example Sentences

It could absolutely break for it in the Champions League knockouts.

From FiveThirtyEight

AlphaFold triumphed over roughly 100 other teams in a long-running challenge called Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction, or CASP, with a knockout, jaw-dropping performance.

From Singularity Hub 

Seven of the nine Americans are on their way to the knockout stage, regardless of what occurs in the final set of group matches next week.

From Washington Post

The previous iteration of Iron Mike sought to punish his opponents without mercy in pursuit of an immediate knockout.

From Washington Post

Even Tesla’s knockout quarter is failing to lift tech stock futures.

From Fortune

The Obama team has won the first round on the six-month agreement with Iran by a knockout.

From The Daily Beast

Indeed, when asked about the “knockout game,” law enforcement has been skeptical.

From The Daily Beast

With the “knockout game,” we have several cases in a handful of cities, as well as five reported deaths.

From The Daily Beast

Have teenagers adopted a new game of random assaults, with the goal of a one-hit “knockout”?

From The Daily Beast

She deliver a knockout performance, helping her clear the second big hurdle: living up to expectations.

From The Daily Beast

I hunched my right shoulder and aimed a stiff knockout jolt at the officer's jaw.

From Project Gutenberg

I set myself and sent a short knockout punch against his chin.

From Project Gutenberg

The effects of a knockout blow, however deftly administered, do not last long.

From Project Gutenberg

For the first time in five-and-twenty years of fighting, clean and dirty, Fergus McLaughlin had taken a knockout.

From Project Gutenberg

But Frank Brooks wasn't full of knockout drops this time, and with a clear head he was no pushover.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• technical knockout