knoll
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to ring or toll a bell for; announce by tolling.
-
to ring or toll (a bell).
verb (used without object)
-
to sound, as a bell; ring.
-
to sound a knell.
noun
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of knoll1
before 900; Middle English cnol, Old English cnoll; cognate with Norwegian knoll hillock; akin to Dutch knol turnip, Icelandic knollur, German Knollen, Danish knold tuber
Origin of knoll2
1350–1400; Middle English (noun and v.); variant of knell
Explanation
A knoll is a small hill or mound of earth, which makes a shady knoll a perfect spot for a summer picnic. The word knoll is associated with the tragic assassination of President John F. Kennedy, who was shot in Dallas just as his motorcade passed a grassy knoll. At first people thought that was where the shots had come from, but it was later determined that the assassin had fired from a nearby building instead. The "grassy knoll” became symbolic of a theory that others had participated in the assassination, and the term has become shorthand for any conspiracy theory.
Vocabulary lists containing knoll
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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.
For Anderson’s 2007 mad epic, he walked ranches around Marfa, Texas, before deciding on the knoll where the 90-foot oil derrick would go.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024
During the afternoon, we sprawled out on a grassy knoll by the beach.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 2, 2024
The multicolored toilet had been left in a grassy knoll near an AMC Theatre at the mall, GPD Sgt.
From Washington Times • Aug. 26, 2023
"I heard that - I don't even know what a knoll is," Norrie said.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2022
On a shady knoll by the house, they relaxed in hammocks and swinging chairs like the ones they’d known at Riverbank.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
