knock

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Knocked p. pr. & vb. n. Knocking. ] [ OE. knoken, AS. cnocian, cnucian; prob. of imitative origin; cf. Sw. knacka. Cf. Knack. ] 1. To drive or be driven against something; to strike against something; to clash; as, one heavy body knocks against another. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To strike or beat with something hard or heavy; to rap; as, to knock with a club; to knock on the door. [ 1913 Webster ]

For harbor at a thousand doors they knocked. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matt. vii. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To practice evil speaking or fault-finding; to criticize habitually or captiously. [ Slang, U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

To knock about, to go about, taking knocks or rough usage; to wander about; to saunter. [ Colloq. ] “Knocking about town.” W. Irving. --
To knock up, to fail of strength; to become wearied or worn out, as with labor; to give out. “The horses were beginning to knock up under the fatigue of such severe service.” De Quincey. --
To knock off, to cease, as from work; to desist. --
To knock under, to yield; to submit; to acknowledge one's self conquered; -- an expression probably borrowed from the practice of knocking under the table with the knuckles, when conquered. “Colonel Esmond knocked under to his fate.” Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A blow; a stroke with something hard or heavy; a jar. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A stroke, as on a door for admittance; a rap. “ A knock at the door.” Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

A loud cry or some great knock. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

Knock off, See knock off in the vocabulary. [ PJC ]

n. 1. (Naut.) A small yacht, generally from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, having a mainsail and a jib; a sloop with a simplified rig and no bowsprit. All knockabouts have ballast and either a keel or centerboard. The original type was twenty-one feet in length. The next larger type is called a raceabout. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. + WordNet 1.5 ]

2. A knockabout performer or performance. [ Theat. Slang ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. A man hired on a sheep station to do odd jobs. [ Colloq., Australia ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. 1. Marked by knocking about or roughness. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. Of noisy and violent character; marked by farce, pratfalls, and horseplay; as, knockabout comedy. [ Theat. Slang ]
Syn. -- boisterous, slapstick. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. Characterized by, or suitable for, knocking about, or traveling or wandering hither and thither; suitable for use in rough activity; suited for everyday use; -- used especially of clothing.
Syn. -- casual, everyday. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

4. That does odd jobs; -- said of a class of hands or laborers on a sheep station. [ Collog., Australia ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. That which knocks one down; something that overpowers or overwhelms, as strong liquor; specif., a kind of ale or beer that is very strong. [ Slang. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A knocking down; a felling by a knock, as of a combatant, or of an animal; a blow that overwhelms; also, a fist fight. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. Something that knocks down, or takes apart, for packing or removal, as a piece of furniture; also, state of being knocked down, or taken apart. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. 1. Of force sufficient to fell or completely overthrow; as, a knockdown blow; a knockdown argument.. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. Designating a rivet end to be formed into a head by upsetting in fastening. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. Of or pertaining to the act of knocking down at an auction; specif., designating the price below which an article will not be disposed by the auctioneer. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

4. Made or constructed so as to be capable of being knocked down or taken apart, as for transportation. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. To strike down; to fell; to prostrate by a blow or by blows; as, to knock down an assailant. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To assign to a bidder at an auction, by a blow or knock of the auctioneer's hammer; to sell at an auction; as, the vase was knocked down at two thousand dollars. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

3. To take apart; to dissassemble; as, to knock down a rifle for cleaning. [ PJC ]

4. To reduce or discount the price of; as, the dresses were knocked down to twenty dollars. [ PJC ]

5. To earn (an income). “plumbers who knock down over a hundred thousand a year.” [ PJC ]

adj. marked by extreme violence; -- of fights; also used metaphorically of fierce contests; as, a knock-down-and-drag-out fight; a knockdown-dragout competition for the browser market.
Syn. -- ferocious, fierce, knockdown-dragout, tearing. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]