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Glite Dictionary
🔨 To hit repeatedly 👴 To still exist
to knock about

to knock about

1 6.3
To hit something hard so it moves or gets damaged
  • phrasal verb
  • UK
translation icon : golpear
  • Children knocked about the soccer ball as they played in the park.

Examples

  • Because if this PC is a rocking, you don't want your heat sink going and knocking about on the inside.

  • The uniformed policemen rifle the shelves in the garage, knock things about, upturn boxes, twist aerials, and topple.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I like so much fake info, can get knocked about so easily.

  • Several horses reared and shied away from the sound of his voice, bumping into folks afoot, knocking them about.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • It was a bachelor's snuggery, small and cozy, with furniture worn enough to be lounged in or knocked about with impunity.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The wind was so strong that it knocked about the chairs on the patio.

  • He accidentally knocked about the books while trying to reach the top shelf.

Synonyms

to hit
vsto knock about
∞ 1.0

To strike someone or something with force

is repeated and forceful, focusing on ongoing hits that cause harm
to knock
vsto knock about
937 1.0

To hit something by accident with a sudden movement

is repeated and intentional, causing movement or damage over time
to strike
vsto knock about
553 2.4

To hit someone or something with force

stresses repeated force and damage rather than one deliberate contact
to bang
vsto knock about
318 1.0

To hit or close something suddenly and loudly

is built on repeated forceful strikes rather than a sudden one
to whack
vsto knock about
250 5.5

To hit someone or something hard so it makes a loud sound

is repeated and damaging rather than primarily one loud strike
to pound
vsto knock about
225 1.3

To hit something again and again very hard

is repeated and forceful rather than a single strong hit
to hammer
vsto knock about
198 1.6

To hit something many times to shape or flatten it

focuses on repeated force without implying a specific tool
to batter
vsto knock about
187 3.5

To hit something many times so it becomes damaged

is about repeated force causing movement or damage rather than one strike
to smack
vsto knock about
164 3.5

To hit someone or something with an open hand

is more about repeated strong hits causing movement or damage
to bashing
vsto knock about
  • NSFW
57 3.2

To hit something or someone hard and repeatedly

is repeated and forceful rather than a single or casual hit
to thump
vsto knock about
27 3.4

To hit something hard so it makes a dull sound

involves repeated forceful impacts rather than a lone thud
to buffet
vsto knock about
11 6.8

To hit something again and again with strong force, often by wind or waves

applies repeated force in general, not only from nature
to wallop
vsto knock about
  • Informal
2 7.3

To hit something or someone very hard

involves repeated forceful hits rather than mainly one hard blow
to bop
vsto knock about
  • Informal
1 6.1

To hit someone quickly in a light, playful way

uses heavier repeated force that aims to move or damage
to whap
vsto knock about
1 8.1

To hit something or someone hard and make a loud sound

focuses on repeated striking rather than a single loud impact
to knock the living daylights out of
vsto knock about
  • Offensive
9.9

To hit someone very hard or to shock someone very much

is similar but more general about repeated damaging hits
to give a whap
vsto knock about
  • Informal
8.8

To hit something quickly with a short, sharp blow

is about repeated heavy hits rather than a single sharp one

Antonyms

to protect
∞ 1.0

To keep someone or something safe from harm

repair
352 2.3

Work done to fix something that is broken

How Forceful

to smash
311 2.1
to batter
187 3.5
to knock about
  • UK
1 6.3
to hit
∞ 1.0
to tap
174 1.0

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

knock + about

The sense 'to strike or hit something repeatedly' is directly built from 'knock' (to strike) plus 'about' (around/around the place); the particle 'about' adds the idea of hitting 'around' or repeatedly, so the combined meaning is compositionally predictable. This verb+particle pattern is a regular, literal combination that a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer.

Etymology

Knock about comes from the literal image of hitting something and making it move around. To knock something about is to bang or bump it here and there, so the phrase means 'to hit or damage something by repeated blows'.