knock
[verb]
Synonyms:
- hit, belt (informal), cuff, punch, rap, smack, strike, thump
- criticize, abuse, belittle, censure, condemn, denigrate, deprecate, disparage, find fault, run down
[noun]
Synonyms:
- blow, clip, clout (informal), cuff, rap, slap, smack, thump
- setback, defeat, failure, rebuff, rejection, reversal

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Antonyms: boost

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English Thesaurus: criticize, be critical of somebody/something, attack, lay into somebody/tear into somebody, tear somebody/something to shreds, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. knock¹ S1 W3 /nɒk $ nɑːk/ verb
[Language: Old English; Origin: cnocian]

1. DOOR [intransitive] to hit a door or window with your closed hand to attract the attention of the people inside:
I knocked and knocked but nobody answered.
knock at/on
We knocked at the door but there was no one there.
Wilson went up and knocked on the door.

2. HIT AND MOVE SOMETHING [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to hit something with a short quick action so that it moves or falls
knock something out of/from something
As I got up, I knocked a pencil out of its holder.
He knocked the knife from my hand.
knock something over
At that moment, Sally knocked over her glass of wine.
knock something aside
She tried to knock the gun aside but she was not fast enough.

3. HIT SOMEBODY HARD [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to hit someone very hard:
He knocked her to the ground and kicked her.
knock somebody unconscious/cold/senseless (=hit someone so hard that they fall unconscious)
Simon could knock a man unconscious with one punch to the jaw.
Garry answered the door only to be knocked flying as two policemen came rushing in.

4. HIT PART OF YOUR BODY [transitive] to hit something with part of your body
knock something against something
Morse knocked his shin against a suitcase that had been left just inside the door.
knock something on something
She knocked her head on a stone.

5. knock on doors to go to every house or apartment in an area asking the people who live there for information or support:
Gathering that information means knocking on doors and asking people questions.

6. be knocking on the door to be wanting to join a group or team – used in news reports:
Five countries have permanent seats on the UN Security Council, but Germany and Japan, among others, are knocking on the door.

7. REMOVE WALL [transitive] to remove a wall or part of a building in order to make a bigger room or space
knock something into something
We could make a bigger living space by knocking two rooms into one.
knock something through
The wall between the kitchen and the dining room has been partially knocked through.

8. knock a hole in/through something to make a hole in something, especially a wall:
We could knock a hole through the wall into the cupboard.

9. CRITICIZE [transitive] to criticize someone or their work, especially in an unfair or annoying way:
The British press always knock British winners at any sport.
‘Designer fashion is silly.’ ‘Don’t knock it; it’s an important industry.’

10. BALL [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to kick or hit a ball somewhere:
The aim is to knock the ball into the opposing goal.

11. knock somebody for six British English informal to shock or upset someone very much or make them physically weak:
This flu has really knocked me for six.

12. knock the stuffing out of somebody informal to make someone lose their confidence:
Suzanne was very upset when her mother left home. It knocked the stuffing out of her.

13. knock somebody sideways British English to upset someone so much that it is difficult for them to deal with something:
His daughter’s death knocked Tom sideways.

14. knock some sense into somebody/into sb’s head informal to make someone learn to behave in a more sensible way:
The struggle to build up her own business had knocked some sense into her.

15. knock (sb’s) heads together informal to tell people who are arguing that they must stop and behave more sensibly:
None of them can agree and it needs someone to knock heads together.

16. knock something on the head British English informal to stop something happening:
We wanted to go for a picnic, but the rain’s knocked that on the head.

17. knock sb’s socks off (also knock somebody dead) spoken to surprise and please someone by being very impressive:
With that dress, you’ll knock him dead.

18. knock somebody off their pedestal/perch to stop admiring someone that you previously thought was perfect:
The press were determined to knock the princess off the pedestal that they had put her on.

19. knock spots off somebody/something British English spoken to be much better than someone or something:
The new computer system knocks spots off the old one.

20. knock on wood American English used to say that you hope your good luck so far will not change Synonym : touch wood British English

21. knock it off spoken used to tell someone to stop doing something, because it is annoying you

22. MAKE A NOISE [intransitive] if an engine or pipes etc are knocking, they make a noise like something hard being hit, usually because something is wrong with them

23. HEART [intransitive] if your heart is knocking, it is beating hard, especially because you are afraid Synonym : pound

24. I’ll knock your head/block off spoken used when threatening to hit someone very hard:
If you say that again, I’ll knock your head off!

25. knock the bottom out of something informal to make something such as a market or industry fail suddenly:
A sudden drop in supplies of certain chemicals could knock the bottom out of the engineering industry.
⇒ knock/beat somebody/something into a cocked hat at cocked hat(1), ⇒ knock somebody into shape at shape¹(3), ⇒ knees knocking (together) at knee¹(4)
knock around (also knock about British English) phrasal verb informal

1. HIT SOMEBODY knock somebody around to hit someone several times:
My father used to knock me around.

2. RELAX knock around (something) to spend time somewhere, without doing anything very serious or important Synonym : hang around:
On Saturdays I knock around with my friends.
We spent the day just knocking around the house.

3. TRAVEL knock around something to travel to different places Synonym : kick around:
For a couple of years we knocked around the Mediterranean.

4. IDEAS knock something ↔ around to discuss and think about an idea, plan etc with other people:
We’ve been knocking around a few ideas.

5. BALL knock something around British English to play a game with a ball, but not in a serious way Synonym : kick about

6. BE SOMEWHERE British English if something or someone is knocking around, it is somewhere but you are not sure exactly where:
Is there a screwdriver knocking about anywhere?
knock somebody/something back phrasal verb informal

1. knock something ↔ back to quickly drink large quantities of a drink, especially an alcoholic drink:
Brenda knocked the brandy back quickly.

2. knock somebody back something to cost you a lot of money:
His new car knocked him back several thousand dollars.

3. knock somebody back British English to make someone feel upset, shocked, or physically weak
knock somebody/something down phrasal verb

1. HIT/PUSH SOMEBODY knock somebody ↔ down to hit or push someone so that they fall to the ground:
Something hit him from behind and knocked him down. ⇒ knockdown²

2. HIT SOMEBODY WITH A VEHICLE knock somebody ↔ down to hit someone with a vehicle while you are driving, so that they are hurt or killed:
A child was in hospital last night after being knocked down by a car.

3. DESTROY knock something ↔ down to destroy a building or part of a building Synonym : demolish:
They want to knock the house down and rebuild it.

4. REDUCE PRICE knock something ↔ down informal to reduce the price of something by a large amount:
The new stove we bought was knocked down from $800 to $550. ⇒ knockdown¹

5. ASK SOMEBODY TO REDUCE PRICE knock somebody down to something informal to persuade someone to reduce the price of something they are selling you:
She’s asking for £150 but I’ll try to knock her down to £100.
knock something into somebody phrasal verb
to make someone learn something:
Parsons must knock these lessons into the team before Saturday.
knock off phrasal verb informal

1. STOP WORKknock off (something) to stop working and go somewhere else:
There was no one in the office because they’d all knocked off for lunch.
Do you want to knock off early today?
We usually knock off work at about twelve on Saturday.

2. REDUCE A PRICE knock something ↔ off to reduce the price of something by a particular amount:
I’ll knock off £10.
knock something off something
Travel agents are knocking £50, and sometimes £100, off the price of holidays.

3. REDUCE AMOUNT knock something ↔ off to reduce a total by a particular amount
knock something off something
Moving house will knock an hour off Ray’s journey to work.

4. PRODUCE knock something ↔ off to produce something quickly and easily:
Roland makes a lot of money knocking off copies of famous paintings.

5. MURDER knock somebody ↔ off to murder someone

6. STEAL knock something ↔ off British English to steal something
knock out phrasal verb

1. UNCONSCIOUS knock somebody ↔ out to make someone become unconscious or go to sleep:
The champion knocked Biggs out in the seventh round.
knock yourself out
His head hit a table as he fell and he knocked himself out.
The nurse gave me some medicine which totally knocked me out. ⇒ knockout¹(1)

2. DEFEAT knock somebody/something ↔ out to defeat a person or team in a competition so that they can no longer take part:
The German team were knocked out in the first round.
knock somebody/something out of something
He first hit the headlines when he knocked Becker out of the French Open Tournament. ⇒ knockout¹(3)

3. DESTROY knock something ↔ out to damage something so that it does not work:
The air raids were planned to knock out communications on the ground.

4. ADMIRE knock somebody out informal if something knocks you out, it is very impressive and surprises you because it is so good:
She loved the movie. It knocked her out. ⇒ knockout¹(2)

5. PRODUCE knock something ↔ out informal to produce something easily and quickly:
Paul has been knocking out new songs for the album.

6. knock yourself out informal to work very hard in order to do something well
knock somebody/something ↔ over phrasal verb

1. to hit someone with a vehicle while you are driving, so that they are hurt or killed:
A woman was knocked over by a bus last year.

2. American English informal to rob a place such as a shop or bank and threaten or attack the people who work there
knock something ↔ together phrasal verb informal
to make something quickly, using whatever you have available:
We should be able to knock something together with what’s in the fridge (=make a meal from items of food in the fridge).
knock somebody/something ↔ up phrasal verb informal

1. to make something quickly and without using much effort:
Michael knocked up a shed in the back garden.

2. British English to wake someone up by knocking on their door:
What time do you want me to knock you up in the morning?

3. informal not polite to make a woman pregnant

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. knock² noun

1. [countable] the sound of something hard hitting a hard surface:
a loud knock at the door
a knock in the engine

2. [countable] the action of something hard hitting your body:
He got a knock on the head when he fell.

3. take a knock informal to have some bad luck or trouble:
Clive’s taken quite a few hard knocks lately.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

knock
noun
I. firm sharp sound
ADJ. loud, sharp | gentle, light | determined | timid
VERB + KNOCK hear | answer She hurried to answer the knock at the door.
PHRASES a knock at/on the door There was a loud knock at the door.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

knock
II. sharp blow from sth
ADJ. hard, nasty, severe (figurative) the hard knocks of life
minor
VERB + KNOCK get, have, take You've had a nasty knock on the head. (figurative) Their pride took quite a knock when they lost 5?0.
give sb/sth
PREP. ~ on

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

knock
verb
I. hit/bump
ADV. accidentally I accidentally knocked the vase off the table.
about, aside, over Her boyfriend had been knocking her about. Mind you don't knock that glass over.
PREP. against The stick knocked against the wall.
off He had knocked one of the pictures off the wall.
on I knocked my head on one of the beams.
PHRASES knock sb/sth flying He was knocked flying as two policemen came crashing through the door.
knock sb off their feet The explosion knocked him off his feet.
knock sb out/senseless/unconscious The blow knocked him unconscious.
knock sb to the ground

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

knock
II. bang on a door
ADV. loudly | softly | politely, timidly
PREP. at Someone knocked loudly at the door.
on She knocked timidly on the study door and entered.
PHRASES without knocking Dobson walked straight into her office without knocking.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

knock
verb
1.
BAD: The woman got angry and knocked him.
GOOD: The women got angry and hit him.
BAD: He thinks that someone knocked him on the head.
GOOD: He thinks that someone hit him on the head.

Usage Note:
When someone tries to hurt another person, they hit them: 'He still had a bruise from the time she had hit him.'

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2.
BAD: When Sandra knocked the door, he was washing his face.
GOOD: When Sandra knocked on the door, he was washing his face.

Usage Note:
knock on/at a door, window etc: 'In future, don't come in without knocking on the door.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

criticize to say what you think is bad about someone or something:
He was criticized for not being tough enough with the terrorists.
Stop criticizing my friends!
It’s easy to criticize, but not so easy to offer helpful solutions.
be critical of somebody/something to criticize someone or something, especially by giving detailed reasons for this:
The report was highly critical of the police investigation.
The press have been critical of his leadership style.
attack to criticize someone or something very strongly, especially publicly in the newspapers, on TV etc:
They attacked the government’s decision to undertake nuclear weapons tests.
lay into somebody/tear into somebody to criticize someone very strongly for something they have done, especially by shouting at them:
He started laying into one of his staff for being late.
tear somebody/something to shreds to find a lot of things wrong with someone’s arguments or ideas and make them seem very weak:
The prosecution will tear him to shreds.
pan to strongly criticize a film, play etc in the newspapers, on TV etc:
Her first movie was panned by the critics.
be pilloried especially written to be strongly criticized by a lot of people in the newspapers, on TV etc:
He was pilloried in the right-wing press.
condemn to say very strongly in public that you do not approve of something or someone, especially because you think they are morally wrong:
Politicians were quick to condemn the bombing.
find fault with somebody/something to criticize things that you think are wrong with something, especially small and unimportant things:
He’s quick to find fault with other people’s work.
pick holes in something informal to criticize something by finding many small faults in it, in a way that seems unreasonable and unfair:
Why are you always picking holes in my work?
knock to criticize someone or something, in an unfair and unreasonable way:
I know it’s fashionable to knock Tony Blair, but I think he did a good job.
slag off British English informal to criticize someone in an unfair and unpleasant way:
He’s always slagging you off behind your back.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

hit to hit someone quickly and hard with your hand, a stick etc:
He hit him hard in the stomach.
I don’t like to see people hitting a dog.
beat to hit someone deliberately many times, especially very hard:
The girl had been beaten to death.
He was beating the donkey with a stick.
strike written to hit someone with your hand or a weapon. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English:
Her husband struck her twice across the face.
Police say that the man had been struck on the head.
punch to hit someone hard with your closed hand, especially in a fight:
I punched him on the nose.
She was screaming and punching him with her fists.
thump /θʌmp/ informal to punch someone very hard:
Sometimes I just want to thump him.
beat somebody up to hurt someone badly in a violent attack, by hitting them many times:
If I tell the police, they'll beat me up.
He had been beaten up and tortured with lighted cigarettes.
slap to hit someone with your open hand, especially because you are angry with them:
They had a big row and she ended up slapping him.
spank (also smack especially British English) to hit someone, especially a child, with your open hand in order to punish them:
Should a parent ever smack a child?
I don’t agree with smacking.
In those days, children were spanked if they behaved badly.
knock to hit a door or window with your closed hand in order to attract the attention of the people inside:
Someone was knocking on the door.
I knocked loudly but no one came.
whack /wæk/ informal to hit something very hard:
Edmonds whacked the ball into the air.
bash to hit something hard, especially in a way that causes damage:
The police had to bash the door down to get in.
tap to gently hit something with your fingers, often in order to attract someone’s attention:
I tapped him on the shoulder.
I heard someone tapping on the window.
rap to knock quickly or hit something several times:
He rapped the table with his pen to bring the meeting to order.
Two police officers rapped on the door at 7 o'clock in the morning.
bang to suddenly hit something hard, in a way that makes a loud noise:
Her father banged his fist down on the table angrily.
The door suddenly banged shut.
pound written to hit something many times with a lot of force:
I could hear the sea pounding on the rocks.
She pounded on the door and shouted wildly.
hammer written to hit something quickly many times making a loud continuous noise:
The rain was hammering on the roof.
A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.
bump to hit a part of your body against something, especially because you do not see or notice it:
Careful you don’t bump your head – the ceiling’s very low.
bang/bash to hit something hard, so that you hurt yourself or damage something:
He banged into the car in front.
I bashed my knee climbing over a gate.
She fell and bashed her chin on the ground.
stub to hit your toe against something and hurt it:
I stubbed my toe on the piano leg.
bestseller a book that a lot of people buy:
His prize-winning book ‘A Year in Provence’ became an international bestseller.
blockbuster a film that a lot of people watch, especially an exciting film:
a Hollywood blockbuster
a blockbuster movie
sell-out a concert, sports event etc which so many people want to see that all the tickets are sold:
The concert was a sell-out.
the band’s sell-out tour of the US
cult movie/band/figure etc a film, band, person etc that has become very popular and fashionable with a particular group of people:
a cult TV programme
craze something that suddenly becomes popular, so that a lot of people do it, buy it etc:
the latest dance craze that has been sweeping the US
the craze for ultra expensive designer jeans
fad informal something that is very popular for a short time – used about something that you disapprove of, which you do not think will last for very long:
Most diets are just fads.
I think it’s a passing fad.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

hit:
Jack hit the ball and it flew over the fence
knock to hit a door or window with your closed hand in order to attract the attention of the people inside:
Someone was knocking on the door.
I knocked loudly but no one came.
strike written to hit a surface. Strike is more formal than hit and is mainly used in written English:
The ball struck the side of the goal.
whack /wæk/ informal to hit something very hard:
Edmonds whacked the ball into the air.
bash to hit something hard, especially in a way that causes damage:
The police had to bash the door down to get in.
tap to gently hit something with your fingers, often in order to attract someone’s attention:
I tapped him on the shoulder.
I heard someone tapping on the window.
rap to knock quickly or hit something several times:
He rapped the table with his pen to bring the meeting to order.
Two police officers rapped on the door at 7 o'clock in the morning.
bang to suddenly hit something hard, in a way that makes a loud noise:
Her father banged his fist down on the table angrily.
The door suddenly banged shut.
pound written to hit something many times with a lot of force:
I could hear the sea pounding on the rocks.
She pounded on the door and shouted wildly.
hammer written to hit something quickly many times making a loud continuous noise:
The rain was hammering on the roof.
A crowd of people were outside hammering on the door angrily.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

knock
nɔk
See: school of hard knocks

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲