Dictionary

knock out en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (transitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To strike or bump (someone or something) out.
   • I accidentally knocked out the glass in my picture frame.
2. (idiomatic, transitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To render unconscious, as by a blow to the head.
   • In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined. One of these blacklegs was laid for by a picket and knocked out of time. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
   • The boxer knocked out his opponent in the third round.
3. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To put to sleep.
   • The allergy pill knocked him out for a good three hours.
4. (idiomatic, informal, intransitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To fall asleep, especially suddenly.
   • That's a put-you-straight-to-sleep book if there ever was one, and I knocked right out after two paragraphs. 2014, D. G. Driver, Cry of the Sea, page 61:
5. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To exhaust.
   • Running errands all day really knocked him out.
6. (idiomatic, informal, transitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To impress, surpass or overwhelm (someone).
7. (slang, transitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To defeat or kill (someone).
8. (idiomatic, transitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To cause a mechanism to become non-functional by damaging or destroying it.
   • The antitank gun knocked out the enemy tank.
9. (transitive) To strike or render unconscious ▸ To eliminate from a contest or similar.
   • As they were approaching bankruptcy from being knocked out of the calculator market, they began development on the first commercially available microcomputer, the Altair. 1980, InfoWorld, volume 2, number 20:
   • Tottenham were knocked out of the Europa League, despite a comfortable victory over Shamrock Rovers in Dublin. 2011 December 15, Marc Higginson, “Shamrock Rovers 0-4 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport:
10. (transitive) To communicate (a message) by knocking.
    • The prisoner knocked out a message on the wall for the prisoner in the adjoining cell.
11. (informal, transitive) To complete, especially in haste; knock off.
    • They knocked out the entire project in one night.
12. To lose the scent of hounds in fox-hunting.
13. (obsolete, qualifier:Oxford University slang) To leave college after hours—after half-past ten at night when the doors have been locked.
    • "Hullo!" he said, getting up; "time for me to knock out, or old Copas will be in bed. […]" 1861, Thomas Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, London: Macmillan and Co., published 1883, page 503:
14. (Australia, transitive) To obtain or earn (something, often money or food).
15. (UK, slang, transitive) To sell.

Forms

Deriveds

knock one out · knock oneself out → don't knock yourself out

Descendants

nakavt · нокаут · nocaute · нокаут · нокаут · nocaut

Relateds

knockout · kick out · knock in (leave after hours) · strike out · punch out

Translations (61)

pl wybijać (to communicate (a message) by knocking) · hu tönkretesz (to cause a mechanism to become non-functional by damaging or destroying it) · cmn 昏迷 (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · pl powalić (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · hu lezavar (to complete, especially in haste) · pl zwalać z nóg (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · pl uśpić (to put to sleep) · pl powalić (to eliminate from a contest or similar) · pl zniszczyć (to cause a mechanism to become non-functional by damaging or destroying it) · hu lekopog (to communicate (a message) by knocking) · pl zwalić z nóg (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · hu knockoutol (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · sv knocka (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · be накаўтава́ць (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · grc ἐκκρούω (to strike or bump something out) · pl usypiać (to put to sleep) · fi tempaista (to complete, especially in haste) · hu kiüt (to put to sleep) · fi lyödä kanveesiin (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · ru вы́бить (to strike or bump something out) · la sōpiō (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · is rota (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · hu összedob (to complete, especially in haste) · pl niszczyć (to cause a mechanism to become non-functional by damaging or destroying it) · pt nocautear (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · es noquear (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · fr assommer (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · ru вырубить (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · hu elaltat (to put to sleep) · fr assommer (to put to sleep) · fi tyrmätä (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · hu összecsap (to complete, especially in haste) · hu kiüt (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · ny kugwétsa (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · hu kiejt (to eliminate from a contest or similar) · pl zgubić trop (to lose the scent of hounds in fox-hunting) · hu eszméletlenre ver (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · fi tyrmätä (to put to sleep) · hu padlóra küld/visz (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · pl wybić (to communicate (a message) by knocking) · fi lyödä irti (to strike or bump something out) · pl kończyć (to complete, especially in haste) · fi nukuttaa (to put to sleep) · uk нокаутува́ти (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · pl gubić trop (to lose the scent of hounds in fox-hunting) · fi sutaista (to complete, especially in haste) · ru нокаутировать (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · pl powalać (to eliminate from a contest or similar) · fi hutaista (to complete, especially in haste) · ru выбива́ть (to strike or bump something out) · fi lyödä ulos (to strike or bump something out) · hu elalszik (to fall asleep, especially suddenly) · pl zasnąć (to fall asleep, especially suddenly) · hu elnyomja az álom (to fall asleep, especially suddenly) · pl powalać (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · nrf achouêmi (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · fi kolkata (to render someone unconscious, as by a blow to the head) · pl powalić (to strike or bump something out) · pl zasypiać (to fall asleep, especially suddenly) · pl zakończyć (to complete, especially in haste) · pl powalać (to strike or bump something out)