knock-on effect

noun

ˈnäk-ˌȯn- 

plural knock-on effects

chiefly British

: an indirect or secondary effect

The heat wave has had critical knock-on effects. Surging electricity demand and stress on the power grid triggered power outages …

—Umair Irfan

Over the past 12 months, asking prices [for houses] have gone up by 9.5%. This has a knock-on effect for renters. UK rents rose by 8.3% in the last three months …

—theguardian.com (London)

compare domino effect, ripple effect

Examples of knock-on effect in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When one of those systems weakens, there is a knock-on effect that ripples into the workplace – and not always in a good way. — Stacey Zolt Hara, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026

But Kelsi Kiper and others fear that any complications in enforcing the new ballot requirements for other types of ballots could have knock-on effects. — Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026

Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted were among the airports affected, while the disruption also had knock-on effects at airports across Europe. — Alessia Armenise, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026

Any delay in positioning Leclerc had a knock-on effect for Hamilton, and he was nearly eliminated in Q2 as a result. — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for knock-on effect

• aftereffect
• interconnect
• affect
• aspect
• bedecked
• bisect
• collect
• connect
• correct
• deflect
• detect
• direct