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Glite Dictionary
to knock cold

to knock cold

8 7.9
To make someone unconscious by hitting them
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : dejar inconsciente
  • Three times within a week, he knocked me cold and left me on the grass.
  • got knocked cold

Well, first he he punches him, knocks him out cold.

Examples

Synonyms

to knock out
vsto knock cold
  • NSFW
210 4.3

To make someone unconscious by a hit, illness, or being very tired

is narrower, used when unconsciousness comes from a physical blow
to coldcock
vsto knock cold
  • NSFW
4 9.9

To knock someone out with one sudden hard punch

is similar but can also mean causing loss of consciousness by other means
to kayo
vsto knock cold
  • Archaic
9.9

To knock someone unconscious with a single punch

is the general term for making someone senseless, not only in fights

Antonyms

to wake up
∞ 1.0

To stop sleeping or make someone else stop sleeping

to revive
71 4.1

To make a person conscious again after fainting

How Unconscious

to knock cold
8 7.9
to stun
11 3.0
to daze
2 4.3

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

knock + cold

The verb 'knock' (to hit) gives a clear clue to physical impact, but the role of 'cold' here is metaphorical — meaning 'completely unconscious' rather than temperature. Because this non-literal use of 'cold' is not an obvious compositional meaning for B1 learners who know the individual words and because similar phrasing is not universally mirrored across languages, the overall sense is partially inferable but not fully predictable.

Etymology

Knock cold may come from a simple image: to knock someone with a hard blow so they fall still and cold, like a person who is unconscious. That's why it means 'to make someone lose consciousness'.