KO
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
KOsimple
-
KO'ssimple
-
have KO'dperfect
-
have KO'edperfect
-
have KOedperfect
-
has KO'dperfect
-
has KO'edperfect
-
has KOedperfect
-
am KO'ingprogressive
-
am KOingprogressive
-
are KO'ingprogressive
-
are KOingprogressive
-
is KO'ingprogressive
-
is KOingprogressive
-
have been KO'ingperfect progressive
-
have been KOingperfect progressive
-
has been KO'ingperfect progressive
-
has been KOingperfect progressive
Past
-
KO'dsimple
-
KO'edsimple
-
KOedsimple
-
had KO'dperfect
-
had KO'edperfect
-
had KOedperfect
-
was KO'ingprogressive
-
was KOingprogressive
-
were KO'ingprogressive
-
were KOingprogressive
-
had been KO'ingperfect progressive
-
had been KOingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of KO
First recorded in 1920–25; initial letters of knock out
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:
Coca-Cola KO -0.68%decrease; down pointing triangle is waging a high-stakes corporate battle with more than $20 billion at stake, and the opponent isn’t Pepsi or even Dr Pepper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
During the past several years, Brush has suggested KO, UTZ and HSY in his stock newsletter, Brush Up on Stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
"We got Justin the good look and KO got the rebound and put it back."
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
Welsh featherweight Jack Shore: "I think Tom will be too well rounded and too fast. I'm going for a second round submission or KO for Tom."
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2023
And you never want Daddy to go for the KO.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Put into the same boxing ring to duke it out, the movie’s unintentional silliness easily KO’s its blips of emotional gravity.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
According to the European Parliament report, Mr Brezja's mobile phone was hacked when he was KO's campaign manager during the 2019 parliamentary election.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024
Animals services have identified who they believe was KO’s owner using the dog’s microchip but have so far been unsuccessful in finding him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 4, 2023
The interiors — much like Studio KO’s other work — are lavish but not ostentatious, precise but not severe.
From New York Times ● Sep. 14, 2018
On the one hand, you have the modest, low-slung masterpiece of Studio KO’s Yves Saint Laurent Museum in Marrakech; on the other, the kitsch whoop-de-doo of the Chiltern Firehouse hotel in London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2018
They’re watching because they want to see Brenda say the skeleton looks like Calista Flockhart, or Cindy get KO’d by a black cat.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2026
Onegame after he was unstoppable, A.D. was KO’d, swarmed into submission, held to five baskets with four turnovers, 11 points after taking 11 shots, illustrating the Warriors’ best chance to win this series.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2023
That’s right, Adesanya, the UFC 185-pound champion, has never been KO’d by Pereira inside the octagon and the fighter better known as “The Last Stylebender” has only lost once in his MMA career.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
If a player is knocked out of the arena, they’ll have a few seconds to return to the safe area before getting KO’d.
From The Verge ● Apr. 21, 2022
"Oh, sure, man, that's all right. You got KO'd, right? Can't win 'em all."
From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte
Four quarters continue to be out of the question, which WSU proved again on a toasty Saturday afternoon on the Palouse, getting KO'ed 50-16 by Southern California in the Pac-10 opener for both teams.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2010
The rest of the sports news was much more routine, as long as you’ve gotten used to a major sport KO’ing itself with a mismanaged lockout.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2011
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.
