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Glite Dictionary
🤕 To hit 🚪 To tap for attention 🔔 A tapping sound 👎 To criticize 💥 A hard hit 🗣️ A criticism 🚗 To make engine noise
to knock

to knock

456 1.0
To hit a surface to make a short sound to get attention
  • verb
  • /nɑk/
: tocar la puerta
  • Aunt Josie lived alone and was awakened one night by a knocking at her door.
  • knock on a door
  • come knocking
  • start knocking

And I would have to go knock and go see these people early on.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Those guys felt that when Andy knocked on their door.

  • He always came back knocking at our door and someone had to pay.

  • And I would have to go knock and go see these people early on.

    Film Courage

  • Hey, knock it off, will you?

    The Front Page (1974)

  • And one night he knocked on my door outdoor.

  • "I probably should have knocked on more doors and had more conversations with people," he says.

    Academic text (2017)

  • But today you don't have to knock on their door, you can just slip in.

  • It's so simple to just look at who's knocking at your door as a sign.

  • I stepped onto its creaking porch and knocked on a crude screen door.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • I heard a knock on the front door, so I went to see who it was.

Synonyms

to bang
vsto knock
307 1.0

To hit or close something suddenly and loudly

is a smaller controlled strike often for polite attention
to knock on the door
vsto knock
100 1.0

To hit a door with your hand to get people inside to notice

is the general act of striking surfaces often to gain attention
to tap
vsto knock
98 1.0

To touch or hit something lightly to get attention

is usually a sharper sound aimed at gaining attention
to rap
vsto knock
23 3.7

To hit something quickly to make a short sharp sound

is a broader strike that may not be as quick or sharp
to knock about
vsto knock
  • UK
2 6.3

To hit something hard so it moves or gets damaged

is usually a single sharp strike aimed at getting attention not repeated force
to tonk
vsto knock
1 9.9

To hit something lightly and make a soft sound

is a firmer strike often used to attract attention
to tuk
vsto knock
1 9.9

To give a short, light knock on something

is a firmer strike often meant to draw attention
to give a whap
vsto knock
  • Informal
8.8

To hit something quickly with a short, sharp blow

is a less forceful strike usually used to get attention

Idioms

knock on wood
  • Informal
13 6.8

You say it to avoid bad luck after saying something good

to knock for a loop
  • Informal
3 8.7

To surprise someone very much and leave them speechless

to knock down a peg
  • Informal
2 7.6

Make someone feel less proud by criticizing or embarrassing them

to knock over with a feather
  • Informal
2 8.8

To be so surprised that you almost cannot react

to knock the stuffing out of
  • Informal
1 8.6

To make someone feel very tired, weak, or sad

to knock into the middle of next week
  • Informal
1 9.9

To hit or shock someone so they feel dazed

to knock the living daylights out of
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To hit someone very hard or to shock someone very much

to knock it out of the box office
  • Literature
8.4

To sell a lot of movie tickets

to knock off one's perch
  • Informal
7.9

To defeat the person or team at the top and take their place

to knock down for the count
  • Informal
8.2

To be hit so hard that you fall and cannot get up

Phrasal Verbs

to knock out
  • NSFW
243 4.3

To make someone unconscious by a hit, illness, or being very tired

to knock off
  • Informal
184 7.4

Stop doing something, often when it is annoying

to knock down
167 3.0

Use force to make someone or something fall to the ground

to knock it off
  • Informal
124 8.1

Tell someone to stop doing something annoying

to knock out
105 3.8

To break or remove something by force, often by hitting it

to knock over
104 2.6

Make something fall by hitting or bumping it

to knock on the door
100 1.0

To hit a door with your hand to get people inside to notice

to knock out
97 3.4

To remove someone or something from a competition by defeating them

to knock up
  • NSFW
65 9.9

To make a woman pregnant

to knock down
49 3.2

Make a building or wall fall down suddenly

to knock off
  • NSFW
29 9.9

Kill someone as part of a crime

to knock out
  • Informal
27 4.7

To impress someone strongly so they feel admiration

to knock at someone's door
  • Informal
20 5.4

To appear as a good chance for you

to knock off
  • Informal
13 6.1

Make something quickly with little effort

to knock out power
12 5.1

Make the electricity go off by damaging power lines or equipment

to knock cold
10 7.9

To make someone unconscious by hitting them

to knock off
8 4.3

Lower the price by a set amount

to knock against
7 2.7

Hit something by accident when you move and touch it

to knock boots
  • Offensive
6 9.9

An informal way to say to have sex with someone

to knock some sense into
  • Offensive
5 8.1

To make someone start thinking and behaving reasonably, often by scolding or force

to knock flat
5 7.4

To surprise someone very much so they cannot react

to knock off
  • Slang
3 8.4

Steal things, for example electronics or cars

to knock about
  • UK
2 6.3

To hit something hard so it moves or gets damaged

to knock down
  • Specialized
1 7.8

Reduce how much a gene works in cells

to knock up
  • UK
1 6.7

To make something quickly and simply from things you have, like a shelter or meal

to knock together
  • UK
1 4.9

Make something quickly that will not last long

to knock out of the box
  • Informal
1 8.0

To impress many people by doing something very well

to knock someone up
  • NSFW
1 9.9

To make someone pregnant, said informally

to knock about
  • UK
1 8.2

To still be around in a place or situation

Compounds

knock knock
  • Informal
17 4.3

A short joke that starts with 'Knock knock!' and uses a call and answer

knock-on effect
  • UK
2 4.7

An indirect result of an event that causes other changes

knock-kneed
1 8.4

With knees that bend inward and touch while the ankles stay apart

knock-knee
1 8.2

Knees that turn inward and touch when the legs are straight

knock rummy
  • Jargon
1 8.7

A rummy game where a player ends a round if unmatched cards total less than ten points

knock on
  • Jargon
1 8.2

The illegal action of hitting the ball forward with the hand or arm while trying to catch it

knock-down-and-drag-out
  • NSFW
1 8.8

Very violent and intense, often about a fight or argument

hunger knock
  • UK
9.8

A strong feeling or sound in the stomach that tells you to eat soon

How Hard

hammer
82 1.0
to bang
307 1.0
to knock
456 1.0
to rap
23 3.7
tap
57 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

Knock (to strike a surface for attention) comes from the same imitation of sound — think 'knock, knock' at a door. Because the word names that sharp sound, it naturally means to hit something to get someone's attention.