to knock off
4
6.1
- phrasal verb
- /nɑk ɔf/
- Informal
:
hacer rápidamente
- What do you say we knock off early, buy some shoes, something lame like that?
Examples
-
Gotta knock off a couple more to get that title.
-
I could knock off a quick report before the meeting starts.
-
I could knock it off for you in 24 hours.
-
I just knocked this off.
-
Let's say we knock off a couple.
-
They knock off about 10 of them a month along this road.
-
It can be equally satisfying to knock off a few easy-to-do items to get the ball rolling, then tackle those priorities with a greater sense of achievement.
Blog text (8) -
She managed to knock off a few sketches in just an hour.
-
He can always knock off a simple meal without much thought.
Synonyms
3
5.1
To write something quickly without much care
3
4.1
To put words down quickly without much thought
1
6.6
Make or finish something quickly with little effort
1
6.7
To make something quickly and simply from things you have, like a shelter or meal
1
4.4
To write something quickly without much care
To make something quickly with little effort
To make writing or music quickly without much care
To write something quickly without much effort
Antonyms
How Careful
Surface Forms
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 for making something quickly may come from the idea of knocking a task off your list — doing it fast so it is out of the way. That's why it means 'to write or make something quickly and with little effort'.