knock
/nɒk
/ /nɒk /verb
1 [no object] Strike a surface noisily to attract attention, especially when waiting to be let in through a door: he strolled over and knocked on a door marked Enquiries...
- She went to Mark's apartment and knocked on the door.
- Tash was ready and waiting when David knocked at her door and ushered her into a waiting taxi.
- Jim hung his coat on a peg in the waiting area and walked over to the door, knocking quietly as he opened it.
Synonyms
bang, tap, rap, thump, pound, hammer;
strike, hit, beat, batter, buffet, pummel
1.1Strike or thump together or against something: her heart knocked painfully behind her ribs...
- When I first met Madonna I was star-struck and my knees were knocking together because I was so nervous.
- In fact, she could almost feel her knees knocking together.
- His teeth were rattling in head, his legs had turned to jelly and his knees were knocking together like castanets.
1.2(Of a motor or other engine) make a regular thumping or rattling noise, e.g. through pinking.The only time you should consider using a higher-octane gas is if your engine starts to knock or ping....
- This premature ignition (called knocking or pinging) lowers the power output and can damage the engine.
- While driving your car, you can also listen to the engine: if you hear knocking, it's a good sign that you have trouble.
2 [with object] Collide with (someone or something), giving them a hard blow: he deliberately ran against her, knocking her shoulder [no object]: he knocked into an elderly man with a walking stick...
- The window suddenly swung open inside, the frame knocking him hard on the chin and sending him sprawling on his back.
- You might accidentally knock heads with your partner.
- Most of that evening was pretty much a blur, except I do remember when Adam knocked my elbow by mistake and made me spill a drink all over myself.
Synonyms
collide with, bump into, bang into, knock against, hit, strike, be in collision with, run into, crash into, smash into, plough into, slam into, dash against, ram, jolt;
North American impact
informal bash into
2.1 [with object and adverbial of direction] Force to move or fall with a deliberate or accidental blow or collision: he’d knocked over a glass of water...
- She took a step forward and was nearly knocked over by a large man rushing past her.
- Two lamps had been knocked over and broken glass covered the floor.
- As she was reaching across the table, she accidentally knocked over her glass of Coke.
2.2Injure or damage by striking: she knocked her knee painfully on the table figurative you have had a setback that has knocked your self-esteem...
- Tom jolted out of his dream, wincing as he knocked his elbow against the bedpost.
- Ruth fell and knocked her head quite hard on the table.
- I sat up quickly and promptly knocked my head on the overhang.
Synonyms
bump, bang, hit, strike, crack;
injure, hurt, damage, bruise
informal bash, thwack
2.3Make (a hole or a dent) in something by striking it forcefully: you’ll need to knock a hole in the wall...
- One rock knocked a four feet hole in a nearby wall and Mr Ayrton said some stones had been found three quarters of a mile away.
- In one case installation of the computer was delayed a day, and when the team arrived the next morning they found that a hole had been knocked through one of the walls already.
- Columbia broke into pieces during its return trip from space in 2003 because Nasa failed to spot that a hole had been knocked in its wing during launch.
2.4Demolish the barriers between (rooms or buildings): two of the downstairs rooms had been knocked into one...
- To the right are two further rooms which could be knocked into one.
- The café looks as if it had been two rooms knocked into one.
- Georgieva gestures around her office, which consists of two rooms knocked into one.
3 [with object] informal Talk disparagingly about; criticize.Critics knock the X3 for its austere interior, but most BMWs tend toward the spartan....
- That's because whenever they do, they never offer any praise, they will just jump straight in and start knocking what I've done.
- I'm not knocking the company, but it's going to be too small for institutional investors.
Synonyms
criticize, find fault with, run down, disparage, belittle, depreciate, deprecate, detract from, give a bad press to, cast aspersions on, scoff at, deride, jeer at, carp at, cavil at;
lambaste, censure, condemn, denounce, revile, attack
informal slam, pan, bash, pull to pieces, pull apart, pick holes in, maul, savage, flay, throw brickbats at, shoot down, give something a battering, talk something down, have a go at, bad-mouth
British informal slate, rubbish, slag off
North American informal trash, pummel
Australian/New Zealand informal bag
4 [with object] informal Approach (a specified age): he’s younger than his brother—knocking seventy...
- Overall, I'm not bad for a man knocking 60.
- He sounded a little disappointed to hear that they were all knocking thirty.
noun
1A sudden short sound caused by a blow, especially on a door to attract attention or gain entry.There was a sudden knock at the door, the noise seemingly unnatural and loud in the silence that I had gotten accustomed to in the past half-hour....
- She was gazing into the mirror, not really paying attention to the task at hand when a knock sounded at the door.
- All of a sudden there was a knock at the front door.
Synonyms
tap, rap, rat-tat, rat-tat-tat, knocking, bang, banging, beating, pounding, hammering, drumming, thump, thud
1.1 [mass noun] A continual thumping or rattling sound made by an engine.When added to gasoline in minute amounts, tetraethyl lead prevents engine knock and increases the gasoline's octane rating....
- In the 1920s, lead was added to petrol, and this addition allowed vehicles to reach higher speeds without engine knock.
- Petrol fuels contain a host of additives to enhance octane rating, lower engine knock and counteract water.
2A blow or collision: the casing is tough enough to withstand knocks...
- No matter how well you drive, with such tight racing and constant jostling for places it is inevitable that you will incur a few bumps and knocks along the way.
- Bumps and knocks to the head are quite common, particularly among children.
- While the shell does protect the phone's internal components from everyday knocks and bumps, it is not waterproof, merely water resistant.
Synonyms
bump, blow, bang, striking, beating, jolt, jar, jarring, shock;
collision, crash, smash, impact
blow, bang, stroke, hit, slap, smack, crack, buffet, punch, cuff, thump, box
informal clip, clout, wallop, thwack, belt, bash
2.1A discouraging experience; a setback: the region’s industries have taken a severe knock...
- Scotland has become a harsher place and our image as a tolerant and open minded nation has taken a severe knock.
- As the weeks passed, it became ever harder to make ends meet and a £140 servicing for Vivienne's car was a severe knock.
- Steeton saw their chance of promotion from Division One take a severe knock when they were beaten 2-1 at Ardsley Celtic.
Synonyms
setback, reversal, reverse of fortune, rebuff, rejection, defeat, failure, difficulty, misfortune, bad luck, stroke of bad luck, mishap, bad experience, blow, body blow, disaster, calamity, disappointment, grief, sorrow, trouble, hardship
informal kick in the teeth, one in the eye, whammy
2.2 informal A critical comment.In recent seasons, the FA Cup has taken a few knocks from the critics, but in my eyes there is still a lot of magic associated with the competition....
- If they want to get ahead, Ms McIntosh says, women have to be prepared to develop thick skins, and the confidence to take the knocks and criticism that go with a high-powered job.
- This is no knock against Lucas, who does a fine job in his short scenes, but it is a structural problem that the film does not entirely solve.
Synonyms
criticism, disparagement, stricture, fault-finding, denigration, censure, reproach, reproval, condemnation, lambasting
informal slamming, panning, slagging off, rubbishing, slating, flak, brickbats
3 Cricket, informal An innings, especially of an individual batsman: a splendid knock of 117 against Somerset...
- A feature of the NatWest Series was how well Australia adjusted a couple of times to difficult surfaces, with Mike Hussey in particular playing some splendid knocks under pressure.
- Ian Winterbottom held the innings together with a knock of 51.
- Jeff Whitmore assisted with a captain's knock of 42 before being caught of a big Brad Tanner delivery.
Phrases
knock someone's block off
knock the bottom out of
knock someone dead
knock someone for six
knock people's heads together
knock something into a cocked hat
knock someone into the middle of next week
knock someone/thing into shape
knock it off
knock someone on the head
knock something on the head
knock on wood
knock someone's socks off
knock spots off
the school of hard knocks
you could have knocked me (or her, him, etc.) down with a feather
Phrasal verbs
knock about (or around)
knock someone/thing about (or around)
knock someone back
knock something back
knock someone down (or over)
knock something down
knock off
knock someone off
knock something off
knock on
knock someone out
knock something out
knock someone over
knock something over
knock someone sideways
knock something together
knock up
knock someone up
knock something up
Origin
Old English cnocian, of imitative origin.
The origin of this word is probably an attempt to imitate the sound. When you decide to finish an idea or plan you may say that you are going to knock it on the head, a phrase well established in English by the late 16th century. To knock spots off someone is to outdo them easily. The expression probably comes from the world of competitive shooting. Contestants keen to show off their skilled marksmanship would be required to shoot out the pips or spots on a playing card. The winner would be the person who shot out the most pips—and who might then be described as having ‘knocked spots off’ their rivals. The sense ‘speak disparagingly about’ is recorded from the late 19th century in US usage.