knockout

knock·out  (nkout)

n.

1.

a. The act of knocking out.

b. The state of being knocked out.

c. A blow that knocks out an opponent.

2. Sports

a. A victory in boxing in which one's opponent is unable to rise from the canvas within a specified time after being knocked down or is judged too injured to continue.

b. The act of winning a boxing match in this way: won the fight by a knockout.

3. Slang A strikingly attractive or impressive person or thing.

adj. also knock-out (nkout)

1. Capable of knocking out: a knockout punch.

2. Strikingly attractive or impressive.

3. Having a specific single gene removed from the genome by genetic manipulation: knockout mice used in an experiment.

Our Living Language An attractive or exciting person or thing can colloquially be called a knockout. First used in the early 20th century, this expression comes from a metaphorical use of the boxing term knock out. The sport of boxing has produced many terms, such as lightweight, heavyweight and slap happy that have entered our everyday language. Two political candidates will square off at the beginning of a debate, an expression with origins in the 18th- and 19th-century rules by which fighters began each round facing each other across a one-yard square in the center of the ring. One of our political candidates might anticipate a comment by the other and so beat her to the punch. If a candidate is clearly losing a debate, he may be said to be on the ropes, and he could even suffer a knockout blow, after which he might throw in the sponge or towel and quit his candidacy. Or, before any of that happens, perhaps time will run out on the other candidate, and he will be saved by the bell.

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knockout

Noun

1. the act of rendering someone unconscious

2. Boxing a blow that renders an opponent unable to continue after the referee has counted to ten

3. a competition in which competitors are eliminated progressively

4. Informal a person or thing that is very impressive or attractive: at my youngest sister's wedding she was a knockout in navy and scarlet

Verb

knock out

1. to render (someone) unconscious

2. Boxing to defeat (an opponent) by a knockout

3. to destroy: communications in many areas were knocked out by the earthquake

4. to eliminate from a knockout competition

5. Informal to amaze: the fantastic audience reaction knocked me out

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	knockout - a very attractive or seductive looking woman lulu, mantrap, stunner, beauty, peach, ravisher, smasher, looker, sweetheart, dish adult female, woman - an adult female person (as opposed to a man); "the woman kept house while the man hunted"
	2.	knockout - a blow that renders the opponent unconscious kayo, KO technical knockout, TKO - a knockout declared by the referee who judges one boxer unable to continue blow - a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon; "a blow on the head"
Adj.	1.	knockout - very strong or vigorous; "strong winds"; "a hard left to the chin"; "a knockout punch"; "a severe blow" severe, hard strong - having strength or power greater than average or expected; "a strong radio signal"; "strong medicine"; "a strong man"

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knockout

noun 1. killer blow, coup de grâce (French) kayo (slang) KO or K.O. (slang)

noun 2. (Informal) success, hit, winner, triumph, smash, sensation, smash hit, stunner (informal) smasheroo (informal) << OPPOSITE failure

Translations

knockout [ˈnɔkaut] n (BOXING) → K.O. m; knockout m

knockout [ˈnɔkaut] knock n (Boxing) → knock-out m, K.-O. m;

knockout competition (Brit) → compétition f avec épreuves éliminatoires

knockout [ˈnɔkaut] knock n (Boxing) → K.-o.-Schlag m, Ko.-Schlag m

cpd (competition etc) → Ausscheidungs-

knockout [ˈnɔkaut] n (BOXING) → knock out m inv