Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🔪 Under knife threat 🗡️ Knife tip 🔪 With knife threat
knifepoint

knifepoint

8.4
Threatening someone with a knife to force them to do something
  • adjective
  • /ˈnaɪfˌpɔɪnt/
  • Offensive
translation icon : a punta de cuchillo
  • She handed over her wallet when threatened at knifepoint in the alley.

Examples

  • The victim described the terrifying experience of being held at knifepoint.

  • The cashier was terrified when the robber demanded money at knifepoint.

  • The store was robbed at knifepoint late last night.

  • He was robbed at knifepoint!

  • The victim was held at knifepoint.

  • In a shocking incident, she was forced to give up her phone at knifepoint.

  • He showed no mercy, intimidating her at knifepoint during the mugging.

Synonyms

gunpoint
vsknifepoint
  • NSFW
63 4.6

A situation where someone points a gun at you to make you do something

involves using a blade rather than a firearm to intimidate or force

How Threatening

knifepoint
  • Offensive
8.4
safe
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

knifepoint positive

Morphology

knifepoint = knife + point (semi-transparent) = knife + point

While 'knife' and 'point' are clear, the specific meaning of 'threatening with a knife' is metaphorical and not directly derivable.

Etymology

Knifepoint joins the simple words knife and point, giving the strong image of a knife's sharp tip pushed toward someone. So when something happens at knifepoint, it means it was forced by the threat of a knife.