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Glite Dictionary
🛑 To stop 💀 To kill ⚡ To do quickly 💸 To reduce price 🚗 To steal
to knock off

to knock off

3 8.4
Steal things, for example electronics or cars
  • phrasal verb
  • /nɑk ɔf/
  • Slang
: robar
  • The police caught him after he attempted to knock off a convenience store.
  • knock off a bank
  • knock off a store

So they start bringing all the gear to me, say that they're knocking off.

Examples

  • He got arrested for trying to knock off a jewelry store last week.

  • Oh, so you steal the seal, and then you knock off nine royals?

    Shanghai Knights (2003)

  • I mean, the guy knocked off a case of Scotch a week.

    Meet Monica Velour (2010)

  • You and your crew knocked off someone last night for 80 large.

    Shade (2003)

  • Okay, a friend of mine knocked off an armored car.

    Half Past Dead 2 (2007)

  • He knocked off all those banks.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Looks like the same guy knocked off - a gun dealer on the three-three last week.

    Righteous Kill (2008)

  • We accidentally knocked off your partner here, and I know y'all gonna be real pissed about that.

    Tactical Force (2011)

  • Why don't you knock off a really juicy bank while I line up the medic?

    Fiction book (1993)

  • They just knocked off Lou Brackman.

    Armed and Dangerous (1986)

Synonyms

to steal
vsto knock off
∞ 1.0

Take something that does not belong to you without permission

is the informal slang way to name that general taking
to rip
vsto knock off
  • Slang
143 8.8

To steal something quickly without the owner knowing

is a slang term used more broadly for such taking
to shoplift
vsto knock off
70 5.0

To steal items from a shop while acting like a customer

is the slang term used for general theft rather than store focus
to pick
vsto knock off
21 8.4

To steal small things from someone's pocket or bag

is a broader slang term not limited to that method
to cop
vsto knock off
  • Slang
18 9.0

Take something without permission, often quickly

is the informal slang expression for general taking
to pilfer
vsto knock off
18 6.5

To steal small things of little value, often a little at a time

is the slang expression applying to theft in general rather than small thefts
to walk off
vsto knock off
  • Informal
12 7.5

To take something that is not yours and carry it away without asking

is a slang label used for unauthorized taking more broadly
to rip off
vsto knock off
  • Informal
12 6.3

To steal something quickly without the owner knowing

is a more informal slang label for that same action
to siphon off
vsto knock off
10 7.9

To secretly take money from a business or charity for your own use

is a slang phrase that applies to theft more generally
to thieve
vsto knock off
4 4.6

To steal something secretly when no one is looking

is the casual slang expression for that same dishonest act
to snitch
vsto knock off
  • Archaic
2 8.0

To steal something quickly and secretly

is a casual slang alternative for that same stealing
to hook
vsto knock off
  • Slang
1 9.1

To steal something, especially quickly in a crowded place

is another informal label used for similar theft
to plunder
vsto knock off
1 6.6

To take someone else's ideas or work and use them as your own without permission

is a slang term used for ordinary theft rather than large scale taking
to glom
vsto knock off
  • Slang
1 9.9

Take something secretly without permission

is the slang phrase used more generally for stealing

Antonyms

purchase
61 1.4

An item or service someone has bought

How Serious

to mug
87 5.8
to rob
852 1.2
to knock off
  • Slang
3 8.4
to burgle
  • UK
5 5.0
to shoplift
70 5.0

Surface Forms

knock off infinitive
knocked off past
knocked off past participle
knocking off present participle
knocks off third person singular

Morphology

knock + off

The particle 'off' can signal cessation or removal, which gives a cue toward 'stop', but the verb 'knock' (to hit) does not independently convey stopping; the imperative use ('knock it off') is conversational and idiomatic. Because the meaning relies on a conventionalized phrasal-verb use rather than straightforward compositional semantics, a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would likely need prior exposure to fully understand it.

Etymology

Knock off may come from the image of someone quickly knocking an item off a shelf and running away, taking it in one sudden move. So it came to mean 'to steal'.