Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

knock

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
verb American English pronunciation: knock /nɑk/ 
Word Forms
Close
present tense
I/you/we/theyknock
he/she/itknocks
present participleknocking
past tenseknocked
past participleknocked
  1. 1
    [intransitive/transitive] to hit something, causing damage or harm

    Mike had knocked his leg against a table.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  knockThesaurus entry for this meaning of knock
    1. a.
      [transitive] to hit something and force it somewhere

      He knocked a couple of nails into the door.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  knockThesaurus entry for this meaning of knock
    2. b.
      [transitive] to hit someone very hard, so that they fall or become unconscious
      knock someone to/off/over/down:

      They knocked him to the ground.

      The force was powerful enough to knock him off balance.

      knock someone off their feet:

      Each fighter tries to knock the other off his feet.

      knock someone unconscious:

      The driver had been knocked unconscious by the impact.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  knockThesaurus entry for this meaning of knock
    3. c.
      [transitive] to hit a ball

      He knocked two out of the park.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  knockThesaurus entry for this meaning of knock
    4. d.
      [transitive] to make a hole or space in something by hitting it many times

      They knocked a hole for the doorway.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  knockThesaurus entry for this meaning of knock
  3. 3
    [transitive] informal to criticize someone or something in a way that seems unfair

    The newspapers spend too much time knocking government policy.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  knockThesaurus entry for this meaning of knock
  4. 4
    [intransitive] Sound effect: knock to hit a door with your hand or a knocker so that someone inside knows you are there

    They walked up to the door and knocked loudly.

    knock on/at:

    I knocked on his door but got no answer.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  knockThesaurus entry for this meaning of knock
See also

This is the American English definition of knock. View British English definition of knock.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

 

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

watchword

a word or phrase that expresses someone’s attitude or intention

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog