verb
Knock on the door. He knocked the man on the head with his walking-stick
Don't knock something till you've tried it
I think I'll knock off for a few hours' rest. b steal, pilfer, thieve, rob, Colloq lift, Brit pinch, Slang Brit nick, US knock over: Two men in balaclavas knocked off the bank in the High Street. c See kill, 1. d make quick or short work of, complete, finish, bring to an end, Colloq polish off: He knocked off that book in a week. e US copy, imitate: They knock off expensive items, then sell them for much less than the originals
knock about or around
She's going to knock about the world for a bit before settling down
He was only knocking about with some of the boys
I have a business proposition that I want to knock around with you
He's been known to knock his wife about
knock down
They knocked down those beautiful old houses and erected an ugly office block in their place
As soon as he got up, McCloskey knocked him down again
knock out
The smart money says that the challenger will knock out the champion in the third round
She'll really knock them out in that dress!
knock up
I think I can knock up something quickly that will pass muster
They knocked me up at dawn to go to work
Her boyfriend knocked her up and then refused to marry her
noun
I was woken by a knock on the wall from my neighbour
He gave me a knock on the nose, and it started to bleed
My latest novel took quite a few knocks from the reviewers
US