to knife
- verb
- /naɪf/
- NSFW
- How do I know you're not going to knife me when my back's turned?
- get knifed
- knife a guy
- knifed to death
Examples
-
In December 2007, another priest was knifed by a teenager as he left his church following Sunday mass.
Academic text (2011) -
So the brother was willing to knife his brother over this issue.
Fiction book (1990) -
You used it to knife your mother in the back?
-
Turns out he knifed some woman and her kid.
-
Some people take a dislike to someone and order him knifed for no good reason.
Blog text (6) -
The attacker knifed the victim during the altercation.
-
After a heated argument, he knifed his rival in the street.
-
The news reported that a man knifed another after a dispute.
Synonyms
To cut or hurt someone's body physically
To push a sharp pointed object into a person or animal
To cut something into pieces using a sharp tool like a knife or axe
Cause serious harm to people or things with a sharp object
To cut forcefully with a knife or sharp tool
To pierce something with a long sharp point like a stick or fork
To stab someone with a blade fixed to a rifle
To stab someone with a short pointed knife
To cut or stab someone with a small blade
Idioms
- Informal
Be badly prepared for a situation where others have much better tools
- Informal
Say or do something on purpose to hurt someone who is already in trouble
- Informal
A hurtful comment or action that makes someone feel worse after bad news
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
A small sharp knife with a serrated or straight edge used to cut cooked meat at the table
A small folding tool with a metal blade that fits into its handle and into a pocket
A small folding tool with blades and screwdrivers that people use to mean a person with many skills
A tropical bean plant with red flowers that grows black beans with white spots you can eat
- Specialized
A narrow fold in cloth pressed flat in one direction, often used in skirts
A very unstable situation that can quickly become much worse or better after a small change
- Specialized
A small sharp tool with a replaceable blade that you use in crafts for precise cutting
- Specialized
A very sharp knife a doctor uses in an operation to cut parts of the body
How Violent
Surface Forms
Etymology
Knife meaning 'to stab' comes from the noun knife — using a blade to hurt someone. That's why when someone is 'knifed' they are wounded by a knife.