knuckle
Americannoun
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a joint of a finger, especially one of the articulations of a metacarpal with a phalanx.
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the rounded prominence of such a joint when the finger is bent.
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a joint of meat, consisting of the parts about the carpal or tarsal joint of a quadruped.
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an angle or protrusion at the intersection of two members or surfaces, as in the timbers of a ship or in a roof.
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a cylindrical projecting part on a hinge, through which an axis or pin passes; the joint of a hinge.
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(in a wire mesh) a bend in a wire crossing another wire.
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(on a chair arm) one of the ridges left at the front end by longitudinal flutes carved to accommodate the fingers.
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Nautical. a pronounced edge formed by a change in the form of the shell of a hull.
verb (used with object)
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to rub or press with the knuckles.
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Marbles. to shoot (a marble) from the thumb and forefinger.
verb phrase
noun
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a joint of a finger, esp that connecting a finger to the hand
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a joint of veal, pork, etc, consisting of the part of the leg below the knee joint, often used in making stews or stock
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the cylindrical portion of a hinge through which the pin passes
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an angle joint between two members of a structure
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informal approaching indecency
verb
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(tr) to rub or press with the knuckles
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(intr) to keep the knuckles on the ground while shooting a marble
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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knucklesimple
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knucklessimple
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have knuckledperfect
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has knuckledperfect
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am knucklingprogressive
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are knucklingprogressive
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is knucklingprogressive
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have been knucklingperfect progressive
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has been knucklingperfect progressive
Past
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knuckledsimple
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had knuckledperfect
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was knucklingprogressive
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were knucklingprogressive
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had been knucklingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of knuckle
1325–75; Middle English knokel (akin to Dutch kneukel, German Knöchel ), diminutive of a word represented by Dutch knok, German Knochen bone; see -le
Explanation
Your knuckles are the joints in your fingers that are farthest from your fingernails. When you clench your hand into a fist, your knuckles are especially prominent. A knuckle is the part of your hand that makes it possible to move a finger freely, and if someone offers you a "knuckle sandwich," you should politely decline, since they're actually planning to make a fist and punch you in the mouth. To knuckle is to rub with the knuckles, like when you knuckle a bit of sand out of your eye. The root of knuckle is the Proto-Germanic knuk-, "bone."
Vocabulary lists containing knuckle
"LAFFF"
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 11
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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.
See Examples For:
Then Rushing again ambushed the first pitch — a knuckle curve on the inside edge — and drove it off the right-field wall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
“Those tools are expensive when applied to you even if we don’t win at the end of the day, so knuckle under.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
This kit includes everything you need to make eight luxurious rolls: two pounds of Maine knuckle and claw meat, eight open-top buns, a half-pint of lemony mayo, and the butter to toast the rolls in.
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2025
"Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? I can't see," said a crestfallen Aspinall.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025
And that’s when I saw it, the dark lines curving from his middle knuckle, rounding the ridges of vein, settling just under the cuff of his plaid sleeve.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Mr. Ferguson seems less concerned now that the FTC is using its knuckles to chill private speech.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 12, 2026
The gloves are weathered and white, their brightness dulled by the decades, with the brand name “reusch” across the knuckles and a big, plum-colored sun on top.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Budget airline easyJet was given a rap on the knuckles this week for misleading customers about how much it charges for a carry-on bag.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
“Fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor, palms calloused from delivery bike handlebars, knuckles scarred with kitchen burns: These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power,” he said.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
Nali shook her head and pressed her knuckles against her lips.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
They did so, as Smith and Lawrence knuckled down to add 105 from 31 overs in the morning session.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
Yet, when faced with adversity, Adams never knuckled up for any fights on principle, choosing only to take the easiest and most comfortable way out.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2025
When it came, he read the puck and deflected it with the shaft of his stick, then watched as it knuckled past Shesterkin to make it 1-0 at 4:25.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 25, 2023
Trout crushed a 111.8-mph missile to center field in that series that knuckled so viciously the ball sailed a good 10 feet over the head of Julio Rodríguez for a triple.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2022
Bucky caught my neck in the crook of his elbow and knuckled my hair.
From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon
Writing for the Sun on Sunday, Starmer described the strategy as "the most ambitious yet honest delivery plan in a generation" as the government was "knuckling down" on delivering its election promises.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2024
Fowler scored his career-best 43rd point with a goal in the first period on a knuckling shot that threaded a path among three Anaheim teammates.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
Hyman scored his second of the night and 11th overall on a 4-on-2 rush, sending a knuckling shot off a Draisaitl set-up past Francouz at 3:55 for a 4-2 lead.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2022
“Or I had people calling and saying, ‘I just need to talk with you because I’m white knuckling my way through things that I could do before the pandemic.’
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2022
I stopped and clenched my fists, then bent over, knuckling my temples and gritting my teeth.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
