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 again, who among us hasn’t requested a parade of knuckle sandwiches with our cake and candles?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 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
"I had a word with myself after the first set - I needed to really knuckle down and focus and I knew his level wasn't really going to drop," Draper added.
From BBC ● May 13, 2025
It scrapes the top of one knuckle, does a bit of a dive to the second knuckle … and then scoots along.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025
I take his head in my armpit and rub his hair with my knuckle.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
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
“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
Combatants try to get any edge they can in the contests, which can be painfully hard on the knuckles.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2025
The court's intervention highlighted the ECI's "procedural failures" and must be seen as a "rap on the knuckles", an editorial in the leading Hindu newspaper said.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
Nali shook her head and pressed her knuckles against her lips.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
However, England's high-quality bench knuckled down, earned territory and, after George Ford had slotted a penalty, Roebuck went over to choruses of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
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
It did look like a fist, Jon Snow thought, punching up through earth and wood, its bare brown slopes knuckled with stone.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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
They may be white knuckling it because they live in perpetual fear of someday failing to measure up.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 26, 2022
Her weekly “happy Monday!” texts started coming with handwashing tutorials, tips on knuckling vs. pushing elevator buttons, and advice that sounded ludicrous to me at the time: “avoid the general public.”
From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2020
“Did I do something good?” he asked me, knuckling his eyes like a child.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
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.
