verb knocked,
knock·ing,
knocks verb, transitive- To strike with a hard blow.
- To affect in a specified way by striking hard: knocked the mugger senseless.
- To cause to collide: I knocked my head on a low beam.
- To produce by hitting or striking: knocked a hole in the wall.
- To instill with or as if with blows: We tried to knock some sense into his head.
- Slang To find fault with; criticize: Don't knock the food; it's free.
verb, intransitive- To strike a sharp audible blow or series of blows, as on a door.
- To collide with something: knocked into the table.
- To make a pounding or clanking noise: The car engine is knocking.
noun- An instance of striking or colliding; a blow.
- The sound of a sharp tap on a hard surface; a rap.
- A pounding or clanking noise made by an engine, often as a result of faulty fuel combustion. Also called ping1.
- Slang A cutting, often petty criticism.
Phrasal Verbs: knock around/about Informal To be rough or brutal with; maltreat. To wander from place to place:
knocking around Europe. To discuss or consider:
met to knock around some ideas. knock back Informal To gulp (an alcoholic drink).
knock down To bring to the ground with a blow; topple. To disassemble into parts, as for storage or shipping. To declare sold at an auction, as by striking a blow with a gavel.
Informal To reduce, as in price:
knocked each radio down 20 percent. Slang To receive as wages; earn:
knocks down $50 an hour. knock off Informal a. To take a break or rest from; stop: knocked off work at noon.
b. To cease work: It's after five; let's knock off.
Informal To complete, accomplish, or dispose of hastily or easily; finish:
That author knocks off a book a year. Informal To get rid of; eliminate:
knocked off 12 pounds in a month. Slang To kill or overcome.
Slang To hold up or rob:
knocked off a bank. Informal To copy or imitate, especially without permission:
knocking off someone else's ideas. knock out To render unconscious.
Sports To defeat (a boxing opponent) by a knockout. To render useless or inoperative:
The storm knocked out the phones. Informal To exert or exhaust (oneself or another) to the utmost:
knocked herself out to be ready on time. Informal To produce in abundance:
The workers knocked out 500 parts in one hour. To inactivate or remove (a gene) by genetic engineering.
knock together To make or assemble quickly or carelessly.
knock up Slang To make pregnant.
Chiefly British To wake up or summon, as by knocking at the door.
Chiefly British To wear out; exhaust.
Origin:
Origin: Middle English knokken
Origin: , from Old English cnocian
.