knock out

knock  (nk)

v. knocked, knock·ing, knocks

v.tr.

1. To strike with a hard blow.

2. To affect in a specified way by striking hard: knocked the mugger senseless.

3. To cause to collide: I knocked my head on a low beam.

4. To produce by hitting or striking: knocked a hole in the wall.

5. To instill with or as if with blows: We tried to knock some sense into his head.

6. Slang To find fault with; criticize: Don't knock the food; it's free.

v.intr.

1. To strike a sharp audible blow or series of blows, as on a door.

2. To collide with something: knocked into the table.

3. To make a pounding or clanking noise: The car engine is knocking.

n.

1. An instance of striking or colliding; a blow.

2. The sound of a sharp tap on a hard surface; a rap.

3. A pounding or clanking noise made by an engine, often as a result of faulty fuel combustion. Also called ping¹.

4. Slang A cutting, often petty criticism.

Phrasal Verbs:

knock around Informal /about

1. To be rough or brutal with; maltreat.

2. To wander from place to place: knocking around Europe.

3. To discuss or consider: met to knock around some ideas.

knock back Informal

To gulp (an alcoholic drink).

knock down

1. To bring to the ground with a blow; topple.

2. To disassemble into parts, as for storage or shipping.

3. To declare sold at an auction, as by striking a blow with a gavel.

4. Informal To reduce, as in price: knocked each radio down 20 percent.

5. Slang To receive as wages; earn: knocks down $50 an hour.

knock off

1. 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.

2. Informal To complete, accomplish, or dispose of hastily or easily; finish: That author knocks off a book a year.

3. Informal To get rid of; eliminate: knocked off 12 pounds in a month.

4. Slang To kill or overcome.

5. Slang To hold up or rob: knocked off a bank.

6. Informal To copy or imitate, especially without permission: knocking off someone else's ideas.

knock out

1. To render unconscious.

2. Sports To defeat (a boxing opponent) by a knockout.

3. To render useless or inoperative: The storm knocked out the phones.

4. Informal To exert or exhaust (oneself or another) to the utmost: knocked herself out to be ready on time.

5. Informal To produce in abundance: The workers knocked out 500 parts in one hour.

6. To inactivate or remove (a gene) by genetic engineering.

knock together

To make or assemble quickly or carelessly.

knock up

1. Slang To make pregnant.

2. Chiefly British To wake up or summon, as by knocking at the door.

3. Chiefly British To wear out; exhaust.

Idioms:

have it knocked Slang

To be certain of success: "He knew he had it knocked after he saw a rough cut of Chinatown" Time.

knock cold

To render unconscious; knock out.

knock dead

1. To kill with a blow.

2. Slang To affect strongly and positively: a performance that knocked the audience dead.

knock it off Slang

Quit it. Often used in the imperative: Knock it off! I'm trying to sleep.

knock (oneself) out

To make a great effort; exhaust oneself.

knock out of the box Baseball

To force the removal of (an opposing pitcher) by heavy hitting.

knock the/someone's socks off Slang

To overwhelm or amaze.

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[Middle English knokken, from Old English cnocian.]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	knock out - eliminate; "knock out a target" do away with, eliminate, get rid of, extinguish - terminate, end, or take out; "Let's eliminate the course on Akkadian hieroglyphics"; "Socialism extinguished these archaic customs"; "eliminate my debts"
	2.	knock out - knock unconscious or senseless; "the boxing champion knocked out his opponent in a few seconds" kayo, knock cold beat up, work over, beat - give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression; "Thugs beat him up when he walked down the street late at night"; "The teacher used to beat the students"
	3.	knock out - destroy or break forcefully; "The windows were knocked out" remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment"
	4.	knock out - overwhelm with admiration; "All the guys were knocked out by her charm" overwhelm, sweep over, whelm, overpower, overtake, overcome - overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
	5.	knock out - empty (as of tobacco) by knocking out; "knocked out a pipe" empty - make void or empty of contents; "Empty the box"; "The alarm emptied the building"