linoleum knife

1 7.3

A small knife with a short stiff blade and curved point for cutting linoleum

noun

: cuchillo para linóleo

For protection, he carried a linoleum knife in the pocket of his sweatpants.

Examples

Maybe a linoleum knife.

Fiction book (2000)
Lynda Schiafino, who had been hacked to death with a linoleum knife found in the subject's hand.

Fiction book (1996)
To cut the linoleum accurately, you should use a linoleum knife, as it is designed for that purpose.
He brought a linoleum knife to the workshop to help with the flooring project.
Using a linoleum knife makes it easier to trim the edges of the new flooring.

Synonyms

knife

vslinoleum knife

NSFW

∞ 1.0

A tool with a sharp blade and handle used for cutting or as a weapon

is specialized for cutting floor coverings with a short stiff curved blade

linoleum cutter

vslinoleum knife

1 7.5

A small sharp knife with a short stiff blade for carving linoleum or trimming edges

is the general cutting tool for floor coverings rather than craft tasks

How Sharp

scalpel

Specialized

71 4.2

knife

NSFW

∞ 1.0

linoleum knife

1 7.3

butter knife

7 1.0

Surface Forms

linoleum knife singular

linoleum knives plural

Morphology

linoleum + knife

The meaning is directly compositional: 'linoleum knife' = a knife used for cutting linoleum. The noun+noun compound follows a common material+tool pattern in English (and other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The noun linoleum knife is named for its job: a small, stiff knife with a curved tip made to cut linoleum, a common floor covering. The short, strong blade lets workers trim edges and make neat cuts, so the name came to mean a tool 'for cutting linoleum'.