knock-outadj.n.
/ˈnɒkaʊt/, U.S. /ˈnɑkˌaʊt/ A. adj. Characterized by ‘knocking out’ (see to knock out at knock v. Phrasal verbs); spec.
a. of, or in connection with, an auction sale (see quots.).
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society > trade and finance > selling > a public sale > [adjective] > relating to auction
auctionary1693
knock-out1818
Peter Funk1845
1818 Chron. in Ann. Reg. 373/1 Combinations, by a set of men who attend real sales, and drive, by various means, respectable purchasers away, purchase at their own price, and afterwards privately sell the same, under a form of public auction, termed ‘Knock-out Sales’.
1895 W. Roberts Bk.-Hunter in London iii. 121 This auction [1726] is interesting..as being the genesis of the knock-out system.
1896 J. S. Farmer Slang (at cited word) The lot is knocked down to the knock-out bidders.
b. of a blow, etc.: Such as to disable or knock out of the contest; also figurative.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [adjective] > specific type of blow
round1790
flush1812
sidewinding1848
knock-out1898
roundhouse1907
K.O.1922
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [adjective] > overcoming or overwhelming > completely
crushing1577
confounding1595
prostrative1817
annihilatory1825
spiflicating1852
dishing1895
knock-out1938
1898 Times 24 Dec. 8/5 The effect of the ‘knock-out’ blow,..delivered, not straight from the shoulder, but sideways and on the tip of the chin, was to produce unconsciousness.
1938 Ann. Reg. 1937 90 The task of the Government..was to make impossible the greatest danger to civilisation—the knock-out blow.
1955 Times 9 May 19/1 A new fashion has, however, arisen—the cry for knock-out competition in private enterprise.
c. Designating (a system used in) a competition or tournament in which the defeated competitors in each round are eliminated.
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society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [adjective] > types of
maiden1598
well-run1601
unequal1654
well contested1722
returned1758
friendly1780
close-run1813
foursome1814
lightweight1823
tight1828
side1829
one-sided1839
scratch1851
international1859
all-comers1860
scrub1867
pointless1876
scoreless1885
replayed1886
peg-down1887
all-star1889
stiff1890
varsity1891
postseason1893
knock-out1896
best-of-(a specified odd number)1897
seeded1901
junior varsity1902
Simon Pure1905
pegged-down1908
JV1923
zero-sum1944
tie-breaking1970
1896 S. Dixon in W. Broadfoot et al. Billiards (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) i. 40 Scarcely a dozen really important handicaps on the old ‘knock-out’ principle have been played in the last twenty years.
1897 W. J. Ford in K. S. Ranjitsinhji Jubilee Bk. Cricket vii. 290 The first elevens meet in a series of matches, played on the ‘knock-out’ system.
1904 Westm. Gaz. 2 Feb. 8/2 The proposed county tournament on the ‘knock-out’ principle.
1908 Captain 18 334/2 A House competition on the ‘knock-out’ plan.
1920 Motor Cycle 22 July 114/1 Competitors in the motor cycle events were run off in pairs on the knock-out principle.
1921 E. B. Turner in E. H. D. Sewell Rugby Football up to Date xiv. 244 The competition was run on ‘knock-out’ lines as it is at the present time, the teams which entered being drawn in ties, and those left in after each round being again paired by lot until only two were left in the final.
1928 Daily Mail 25 July 16/4 The singles championship held by the Ayton Tennis Club..was played on the knock-out principle.
1953 E. Smith Guide to Eng. Trad. 94 Besides the League there is also a ‘knock-out’ competition for the English Cup.
1955 Times 18 Aug. 4/3 Leeds, Huddersfield, Halifax, and Hull will be expected to go a long way in the various knock-out competitions again.
1966 Listener 30 June 936/1 The British Isles are to be invaded by football fans from all over the world bent on seeing the knock-out international competition known as the World Cup.
1974 Country Life 2 May 1070/2 By mid-summer we are left with 32 [cricket] clubs who fight it out on a knockout basis.
d. knock-out drops (also occasionally singular), a liquid drug of which drops are put into liquor to render a person unconscious or stupefied (e.g. in order to rob him). Also figurative. knock-out man, one who uses knock-out drops. colloquial (originally U.S.).
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the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > narcotic drink or drug used for
dwale1393
tonga1852
locus1859
knock-out drops1895
Mickey Finn1918
Michael1932
Mickey1938
incapacitant1961
1895 J. S. Wood Yale Yarns 152 Our dandy team played a logy, tired sort of game, as if each man had been given knock-out drops, and we all felt blue!
1896 G. Ade Artie xviii. 173 They get out the bottle o' knock-out drops and get ready to do business.
1901 Daily Chron. 17 Dec. 5/2 ‘Knock-out drops’ are well known in New York, and are a part of the effective tools in trade of the thug, the thief, and the confidence man.
1903 N.Y. Evening Post 18 Sept. 7 He may be one of the new sort of ‘knockout men’ discovered this week.
1903 N.Y. Sun 12 Nov. 4 Bowery thieves were using chloral or ‘knock-out drops’ as an aid in robbing victims.
1904 Ex-Inspector Elliott Tracking Glasgow Criminals 23 The use of drugs..or what is more familiarly known in criminal circles as ‘knock-out’ drops is common enough in most cities. What is known as ‘knock-out’ drops is chloral hydrate, and from fifteen to thirty grains of it produces a sleep that lasts three hours.
1926 J. Black You can't Win xii. 152 Here I learned to beware the crafty shanghaier with his knockout drops.
1928 Sat. Evening Post (N.Y.) 12 May 90/2 They're murderers and knockout men and they never play a straight game.
1955 ‘N. Shute’ Requiem for Wren viii. 242 About midnight..I took one of Aunt Ellen's things. It was a knock-out drop all right because I didn't wake up till half past nine.
1958 Sunday Times 10 Aug. 8/3 The first [film] was a typical knock-out drop—a study of ‘inter-specific interdependence’.
e. Mechanics. Designating or pertaining to a knock-out (see B. 5a, A. b).
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society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [adjective] > device for ejecting something from mould
knock-out1907
1907 Installation News Nov. 6/2 The ‘knock-out’ principle as applied to junction boxes.
1925 F. W. Hodkin & A. Cousen Textbk. Glass Technol. xxxii. 439 The knock-out arm moves outwards, so that the bottle falls off the mould base into the trough.
1946 J. H. Du Bois & W. I. Pribble Plastics Mold Engin. iii. 104 As the press continues to open, the pin attached to the knockout bar rises and pushes the wedge, with molded piece attached, up out of the cavity.
1955 Die Design Handbk. (Amer. Soc. Tool Engineers) v. 23 Knockout slugs should be readily removable from the outside of the box; so care should be exercised to see that the material is pierced from the proper side.
1955 Die Design Handbk. (Amer. Soc. Tool Engineers) v. 23 Knockout dies.
1963 H. R. Clauser Encycl. Engin. Materials 104/1 If necessary knockout pins are cast into the mold.
f. Founding. Used in or pertaining to the knocking out of castings and flasks (see to knock out 10 at knock v. Phrasal verbs).
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society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [adjective] > processes in founding or casting
Mitis casting1885
hot-metal1901
knock-out1942
pressure-cast1973
1942 Engineering 6 Mar. 195/2 With continuous casting with a mould conveyor, there was great difficulty in adjusting the whole conveyor for uniform speed, so that, when the castings came to the knock-out grid, they would be cool enough for knocking out.
1958 Ann. Rep. Chief Inspector of Factories on Industr. Health 1957 15 in Parl. Papers 1958–9 (Cmnd. 558) XIII. 183 Various types of exhaust systems used to control dust and fumes at central knock-out positions..have been examined.
1973 Steel Castings Abstr. XXII. 24 (heading) Improving the knock-out properties of silicate bonded sands.
g. colloquial. Of a person or thing: of overwhelming or surpassing quality. Cf. B. 4.
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the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [adjective]
wonderlyc893
wonderfula1100
wondera1175
wondersa1300
marvellousc1330
marvela1400
marvelly?a1400
mirablec1429
admirablec1450
marvellablec1450
mirific1490
wondrous1509
extonious1548
portentious1549
miraculous1569
geason1572
mirificalc1572
astounding1590
amazing1593
wonderedc1595
admiring1598
prodigious1600
astonishable1603
fabulous1609
wondered-at?1611
necromantic1627
stupendous1640
nigromantic1645
mirandous1652
surprising1665
mirabundous1694
astonishinga1704
wondersome1774
sublime1813
nasty1834
kill-me-quite1842
breathtaking1843
breath-catching1865
miracle-working1867
mouth opening1867
stupefying1870
gee whiz1889
scorching1890
doozy1903
sensational1909
eye-popping1918
wunnerful1924
crashing1931
staggering1934
eyewatering1950
mind-boggling1955
Ozymandian1961
knock-out1966
mind-blowing1966
motherfucking1973
boggling1975
gobsmacking1981
tubular1982
1966 Crescendo Aug. 41 (advt.) Chasing a real knockout sound? You'll find the most rewarding instrument..is the Hammond organ.
1968 Listener 5 Sept. 307/2 The wit and repartee of the DJ... ‘Hi there— it's great to be with you and welcome to another knock-out show.’
B. n.
1. The practice of ‘knocking out’ at auction sales or in similar transactions; a knock-out sale; also, one of the confederates who ‘knock out’: see A. a, to knock out 3 at knock v. Phrasal verbs.
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society > trade and finance > buying > buyer > [noun] > bidder > combination at auction
knock-out1854
society > trade and finance > selling > a public sale > [noun] > auction > practice of knocking out
knock-out1854
1854 Illustr. London News 7 Oct. 342/2 A knock-out is a combination of bidders at a sale, who, deputing one to bid, save the increase of price which further competition causes, and subsequently have a private sale among themselves.
1864 East London Observer 25 June Witness said a knock-out was where a sum of money was divided among the contractors, and the officials generally,..out of the contract price over and above what ought to be paid for the work... Those who did not get the work had money for putting in tenders so that the favored one got it, and the officials also.
1883 A. Lang in Longman's Mag. II. 522 The auctioneer put up lot after lot, and Blinton plainly saw that the whole affair was a knock-out.
2. A knock-out blow: see A. b. Also transferred.
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the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > [noun] > with the hand > with the fist > knock-out
knock-out1887
outer1898
Sunday punch1915
K.O.1922
kayo1933
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > [noun] > knock-out or technical knockout > knock-out blow
tie-up1818
knock-out1887
K.O.1922
kayo1933
1887 in Amer. Speech (1950) 25 35/1 A knock-out was no more possible with these youngsters.
1891 Sporting Life (Philadelphia) 25 Mar. 7/3 The Barrier man was nearly helpless, and Choynski tried frantically to pull himself together for one good knock out.
1894 A. Morrison Tales Mean Streets: Three Rounds 138 It was a hard fight, and both the lads were swinging the right again and again for a knock-out.
1895 G. B. Shaw Let. 17 Sept. (1965) I. 560 Got up [after cycling smash] within the prescribed ten seconds, but had subsequently to admit knock-out.
a1918 W. Owen Coll. Poems (1963) 71 One of us got the knock-out, blown to chops.
1944 Return to Attack (Army Board, N.Z.) 23/2 The tanks, which had suffered three knockouts from 88-millimetre guns.
3. Polo. (See quot. 1894) U.S.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > equestrian sports except racing > polo > [noun] > actions
knock-out1894
safety1896
hit-in1930
crook1935
1894 Rules of Amer. Polo Assoc. in M. H. Hayes Mod. Polo (1896) 314 When the ball goes out ends, the side defending that goal is entitled to a knock out from the point at which it crossed the line. When the player having the knock out causes unnecessary delay, the Referee may throw a ball on the field and call play.
4. colloquial. A person or thing of overwhelming or surpassing quality. Cf. A. g.
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the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [noun] > wonderful person
miracle1595
masterpiece1648
wonderling1658
prodigya1684
phenomenon1839
caution1870
astonisher1871
mazer1876
phenom1881
knock-out1892
superman1925
Wunderkind1930
whiz-kid1960
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [noun] > a marvel, object of wonder
wonderc700
wonderinga1100
selcouthc1175
sellya1200
ferlyc1275
wondernessc1275
wonder thingc1290
adventurec1300
marvelc1300
marvellingc1400
wonderelc1440
signc1450
admiration1490
wonderment1542
wondering stockc1555
miracle-worker1561
singularity1576
stupor mundi1587
miracle1595
marvellation1599
portent1607
astonishment1611
prodigy1616
magnale1623
magnality1646
mirable1646
phenomenon1741
gaping-stock1817
reacher1825
stunner1829
buster1833
caution1834
merry-go-rounder1838
knock-down1843
astonisher1871
marvelry1874
mazer1876
phenom1881
whizzer1888
knock-out1892
whizz1908
doozy1916
doozer1930
heart-stopper1940
blockbuster1942
ooh-ah1957
mind-blower1968
stonker1987
1892 Idler June 549 'E's a knockout!
1898 J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 28 Got a rippin' good voice, ain't he? It's a knock-out.
1908 London Mag. June 473/2 The tent is a knock-out.
1918 A. Quiller-Couch Foe-Farrell xi. 163 The view from the top is a knock-out.
1920 P. G. Wodehouse Jill the Reckless xiv. 264 He had a respect for Wally's opinion, for Wally had written ‘Follow the Girl’ and look what a knock-out that had been.
1926 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Nov. 13 Only it isn't very exciting for him, and I'm no knock-out to introduce around.
1928 Sat. Evening Post (N.Y.) 4 Feb. 118/2 I think he'd be a knock-out as a singer in a cabaret if he could sing.
1935 A. Huxley Lett. (1969) 394 The greatest knockout is the ‘Assumption’ at S. Vincente, where there are also some small pictures of absolutely staggering beauty.
1953 R. Lehmann Echoing Grove 190 A whizzing beauty! Really but really a knock-out.
1958 Daily Mail 1 Sept. 10/8 The clever, wicked face of Emlyn Williams expressing the words of Dylan Thomas was once again a knock~out.
1970 A. Cameron et al. Computers & Old Eng. Concordances 24 I've got a version of Paradise Lost that is a knock-out.
1971 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 11 June 2/1 I'm sick to death of women's liberation. I don't see any real knockouts running around with those placards, just a bunch of unhappy uggas. Nobody would want to spend an evening—much less a lifetime—with them.
5.
a. Mechanics. A device for ‘knocking out’ or ejecting something, esp. from a mould or die.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > other specific types of equipment > [noun] > moulds or shaping equipment > device for ejecting something from mould
knock-out1893
society > occupation and work > equipment > metalworking equipment > [noun] > casting equipment > mould > parts or accessories of mould
flask1697
sharp1703
core1728
oddside1836
drawback1843
cope1856
nowel1864
rapping plate1876
prod1888
knock-out1893
undercut1909
hot top1917
tundish1926
pipe chaplet1934
natch1941
parting1967
1893 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. I Knock-out, a device for throwing out finished work from a punching- or stamping-machine.
1896 O. Smith Press-working of Metals xii. 243 There is a distinct class of ejecting press- or die-attachments known by the general name of ‘knockouts’, or sometimes and if limited to the lower die, as ‘knockups’.
1915 F. D. Jones Diemaking & Die Design vii. 282 The mechanically operated knockout..applied to a punch press..operates more satisfactorily than a rubber bumper.
1919 F. A. Stanley Punches & Dies vii. 152 The die is made..with a knock-out which ejects the work after the trimming operation.
1946 J. H. Du Bois & W. I. Pribble Plastics Mold Engin. ix. 371 The knockout pins may be made as sleeve knockouts working over a core pin.
1960 Eary & Reed Techniques Pressworking Sheet Metal xviii. 377 Basically, there are two main types of knockouts: the spring knockout and the solid knockout.
b. A part of a box or other article designed to be forced out to form a hole.
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the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > [noun] > part knocked out to form hole
knock-out1939
1907 [see sense A. e].
1939 H. P. Richter Pract. Electr. Wiring x. 124 Around the sides [of the outlet box] and in the bottom are found ‘knockouts’—sections of metal that can be easily knocked out to form openings for wire to enter. The metal is completely severed around these sections except at one small point.
1955 Die Design Handbk. (Amer. Soc. Tool Engineers) v. 23 Typical single and double dies for producing knockouts in conduit boxes, enclosing boxes, and similar products.
1962 Gloss. Terms Glass Industry (B.S.I.) 36 Button (cap, knockout), a portion of a piece of pressed ware so designed that it can be knocked out or off to make a hole.
c. Founding. The process of separating a casting from the flask and sand in which it was made (cf. to knock out 10 at knock v. Phrasal verbs); the place where, or equipment with which, this is carried out.
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society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [noun] > founding or casting > separating casting from mould
knock-out1942
1942 Engineering 6 Mar. 195/3 The method of dealing with mould-making, closing and knock-out must depend upon the nature of the product.
1942 Engineering 6 Mar. 195/3 The cooling of the sand on its way from the knock-out to the reconditioning mill presented some difficulty.
1955 H. E. Crivan in W. C. Newell Casting of Steel vi. 227 Mechanical jolt knock-outs are in operation.
1972 P. R. Beeley Foundry Technol. viii. 417 The interval before knockout is important from the points of view of moulding box utilisation and of the temperature of the sand in the system.
1973 Steel Castings Abstr. XXII. 11 The redesign of castings..and alterations to the plant layout, including the knock~out, have reduced the labour required.
6. A ‘knock-out’ competition: see A. c.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > types of
all comersc1450
after-gamea1500
fore-game1594
revenge1616
plate1639
set-to1743
return match1753
bye1754
scrub-race1791
anybody's game (also race, match)1826
return1834
barney1843
bonspiel1858
handicap1861
pennant1865
home-and-home1868
benefit match1871
run-off1873
international1877
American tournament1878
Grand Prix1879
single1884
friendly1885
all-comers1889
pair1890
championship1893
round robin1894
replay1895
Olympiad1896
junior varsity1902
lightning tournament1903
rematch1903
road trip1903
pickup1905
freestyle1906
marathon1908
test1908
Derby1909
scrimmage1910
eliminator1911
twosome1911
triala1914
quadrangular1916
slug-fest1916
varsity match1921
needle contest1922
curtain jerker1923
needle match1923
open1926
needle fight1927
knock-out1928
shirt1930
masters1933
pro-amateur1934
tune-up1934
World Cup1934
pro-am1937
state1941
sizzler1942
runathon1943
mismatch1954
run-out1955
match-up1959
squeaker1961
triple-header1961
Super Bowl1967
invitational1968
needle game1970
major1976
slobberknocker1986
1928 Observer 19 Feb. 22/2 That Clare and Caius should have got into the semi-finals of the Rugby ‘knock-out’ was not unexpected.
1928 Observer 4 Mar. 22 Pembroke..have won the finals..of both the football ‘knock-outs’.
1959 A. Wesker Roots iii. 66 The fireman's whist drive. Won seven'n six in the knockout.
Draft additions February 2005
B. n. Molecular Biology. Inactivation of a particular gene, esp. by artificial addition or deletion of DNA. Also: an organism, esp. a mouse, in which a particular gene has been inactivated.
ΚΠ
1991 New Biologist 3 331 (title) Knock-in and knock-out. Transgenes, development and disease.
1992 Science 5 June 1393/3 Experienced labs can now make a new knockout in less than a year.
1995 New Scientist 4 Mar. 16/3 By comparing these mice with the knockouts, biologists should be able to discover how individual genes affect each stage of fetal development.
2003 Biotech Week (Nexis) 12 Nov. 454 While one mutation is a large deletion that is predicted to produce an effective knockout of the gene, the second is a point mutation..whose precise effects on protein function are unclear.
Draft additions February 2005
A. adj. Molecular Biology. Designating an organism, esp. a mouse, in which a particular gene has been inactivated.
ΚΠ
1992 Science 5 June 1393/1 Knockout mice represent a major investment both in time and money.
1998 J. Panksepp Affective Neurosci. vi. 118 The psychic appeal of cocaine seems to be mediated by the dopamine reuptake site, since knockout mice without this receptor do not appear to desire psychostimulants.
2003 Pop. Sci. Jan. 71/2 ‘Knockout’ pigs—animals lacking a gene that coats pig cells with sugars that cause the human body to reject them as foreign.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1901; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1818