knock — to hit something, especially a door, with your knuckles or a hard object to attract attention
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to hit something, especially a door, with your knuckles or a hard object to attract attention
Pronunciation (IPA): /nɑːk/
Example Sentences
- The pizza delivery guy knocked so loudly that even the neighbors heard it.
- She knocked three times - the secret code to enter the club.
- My cat thinks it's polite to knock everything off my desk before I start working.
knock
VERB[/nɑːk/]
to hit something, especially a door, with your knuckles or a hard object to attract attention

She heard a sudden knock on the wooden door late at night.
Got the picture? Now let's practice.
🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Derived from Middle English 'knokken', a word of onomatopoetic origin describing the act of striking or hitting with audible sound. The term reflects the natural linguistic tendency to represent percussive sounds through imitative vocalization.
Breakdown
knock- (imitative root representing a striking sound) + -en (Middle English verb infinitive marker). The root itself is purely onomatopoetic, with no further morphological decomposition.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The pizza delivery guy knocked so loudly that even the neighbors heard it.”
“She knocked three times - the secret code to enter the club.”
“My cat thinks it's polite to knock everything off my desk before I start working.”
“Don't forget to knock before entering the boss's office.”
📚Related Words
Want to master 27,000+ words?
Sign up free for flashcards & quizzes.