⛵ A simple sailboat 🥾 Very tough 🤡 Loud and silly

knockabout

7.2

Made to be used roughly without breaking

adjective
/ˈnɑkəˌbaʊt/

: resistente

This is just a knockabout jacket for walking the dog in the rain.

Examples

I bought a knockabout car for my son.
He wore a knockabout pair of boots perfect for muddy tracks.
They drove an old knockabout van up the mountain trail.
This knockabout furniture is perfect for kids.
This hard hat is designed to be a knockabout model that can handle rough job sites without breaking.
His knockabout style of comedy appeals to audiences who enjoy lighthearted and energetic performances.
The old tent is quite knockabout, so it should withstand the wind and rain during our camping trip.

Antonyms

delicate

188 3.8

Easily broken and needing gentle care

fragile

83 3.4

Easily broken or damaged because it is not strong

How Tough

indestructible

34 5.3

knockabout

7.2

rugged

22 3.7

sturdy

76 2.1

Surface Forms

knockabout positive

Morphology

knockabout = knock (transparent) = about + knock

The adjective meaning ('suitable for rough use') is a straightforward adjectival reading of the compound 'knock' + 'about' (i.e., able to be knocked about). [Postprocessing: moved 'about' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Knockabout comes from knock + about, meaning 'to be knocked around', so something described as knockabout is made to take rough use and hard treatment without serious damage.