1
chiefly dialectal
: a crest of a hill : summit
2
chiefly dialectal
: a small hill
knapped; knapping
1
: to break with a quick blow
especially
: to shape (something, such as flints) by breaking off pieces
2
dialectal British
: rap entry 2 sense 1
4
dialectal British
: chatter
knapper
noun
knap·per
variants
or less commonly napper
-pə(r)
plural -s
: one that knaps
especially
: one that dresses flints or other stone by knapping
Examples of knap in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
If confirmed, our human ancestors started shaping bones by striking them at specific angles in a process known as knapping as much as 1.5 million years ago.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2025
Rocks could be knapped, or shaped, into knife blades, spear points, ax heads, and more, allowing hunter-gatherers to take on new prey and use animal remains for clothing and other things.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
Our Paleolithic ancestors learned to knap delicate blades from round stone cobbles, hunt large game and cook their food.
—Herman Pontzer, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022
The course was jointly led by Ojibwe elders, who taught him how to knap flint, tan hides and build wigwams.
—Franz Lidz Meghan Dhaliwal, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022
Knowing how to make a friction fire, or how to whittle a paddle out of a log, or how to knap stone arrowheads all have their place in a survival situation (particularly fire making).
—Jim Baird, Field & Stream, 3 Aug. 2020
There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow.
—Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020
His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools.
—1843, 20 Feb. 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Verb
And that’s mostly true; Neanderthals in both places used broadly similar techniques to make similar tools: triangular flakes and points, knapped from flint.
—ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
If confirmed, our human ancestors started shaping bones by striking them at specific angles in a process known as knapping as much as 1.5 million years ago.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2025
Rocks could be knapped, or shaped, into knife blades, spear points, ax heads, and more, allowing hunter-gatherers to take on new prey and use animal remains for clothing and other things.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
Our Paleolithic ancestors learned to knap delicate blades from round stone cobbles, hunt large game and cook their food.
—Herman Pontzer, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022
The course was jointly led by Ojibwe elders, who taught him how to knap flint, tan hides and build wigwams.
—Franz Lidz Meghan Dhaliwal, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022
Knowing how to make a friction fire, or how to whittle a paddle out of a log, or how to knap stone arrowheads all have their place in a survival situation (particularly fire making).
—Jim Baird, Field & Stream, 3 Aug. 2020
There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow.
—Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020
His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools.
—1843, 20 Feb. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Knap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knap. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
