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Glite Dictionary
👊 A finger joint 🤲 To rub with knuckles
to knuckle

to knuckle

20 6.3
To press or rub something with the joints where your fingers bend
  • verb
  • /ˈnʌkəl/
translation icon : frotar con los nudillos
  • To solve the puzzle, she needed to knuckle down and focus on the tricky parts.

Examples

  • Man's got to make do, tighten his belt, knuckle down, and show some moxie.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I'm gonna knuckle down and take it like a man

    The End (1978)

  • You don't want to knuckle down under Harry Joy, do you?

    Bliss (1985)

  • Smith refused to knuckle under or to be intimidated by the white mobs who threatened him.

    Academic text (2017)

  • He won't knuckle down.

    Day of the Outlaw (1959)

  • He decided to knuckle down and finish his homework before going out with friends.

  • When faced with difficult challenges, it's important to knuckle down and give your best effort.

Synonyms

to knead
vsto knuckle
4 4.3

Press and rub a person's muscles with hands so they relax

press by curling the fingers at the joints rather than using whole hand pressure

Antonyms

to extend
265 2.7

To reach out with your body or make something longer

Phrasal Verbs

to knuckle down
  • Informal
4 4.5

To start working hard after not doing much before

to knuckle under
  • Informal
4 8.4

To give in to pressure or someone in charge even if you do not want to

Compounds

knuckle sandwich
  • Offensive
4 8.6

A punch in the mouth said as a joke or threat

bare-knuckle
2 7.5

Done without gloves or other protection in fights

knuckle dragger
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person someone insults for being slow or having old-fashioned views

bare-knuckle
1 7.5

Being rough and fierce in competition or argument, not following rules

knuckle duster
  • UK
8.6

A small metal weapon that fits over the knuckles to make a punch stronger

knuckle joint
  • Specialized
5.6

A connection that lets two rods or bars move in only one direction

knuckle joint
5.2

The place on a finger where two bones meet, visible when making a fist

total fuck-knuckle
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who is very foolish and bad at what they do

white-knuckle flight
  • Informal
8.6

A very frightening plane trip that makes people on board feel scared

white-knuckle thriller
  • Informal
6.0

A very exciting film that makes you feel scared and tense

How Forcefully

hammer
17 1.0
squeeze
12 1.5
to knuckle
20 6.3
press
11 1.3
to tap
174 1.0
to pat
110 1.0

Surface Forms

knuckle infinitive
knuckled past
knuckled past participle
knuckling present participle
knuckles third person singular

Etymology

Knuckle as a verb comes from the noun knuckle, the 'bump' on a finger, because people press or rub things with that part of the hand. So to knuckle something is to use your knuckles to press, rub, or bend it.