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knock

noun · verb

Simple meaning

An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

nahk
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈnɑk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood.

  2. A sharp impact.

  3. A townland in Drumcliff civil parish, County Clare, Ireland.

  4. A vigorous blow

  5. figurativelyinformal

    A criticism.

  6. figurativelyinformal

    A blow or setback.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood.

Used this way, knock is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It comes across as direct, sometimes bluntly so.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Sudden and forceful
Usage feel
Blunt and forceful

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use knock

  • “He knocked the glass clear across the room.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

loud knocksoft knock

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • knockingnounInflected form

    The sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing).

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • knock offverbCompound term

    Get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing.

  • knock onnounCompound term

    Knocking the ball forward while trying to catch it (a foul).

  • knock-on effectnounCompound term

    A secondary or incidental effect.

  • knock outverbCompound term

    Eliminate.

  • knock oververbCompound term

    Cause to overturn from an upright or normal position.

  • knock rummynounCompound term

    A form of rummy in which a player can go out if the cards remaining in their hand total less than 10 points.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to rap one's knuckles against something or especially wood

rap

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.