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

The knock-on effects are pushing consumers into different buying patterns. — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Zuma-Ncube also hopes the show's popularity internationally will have a knock-on effect. — Kate Bartlett, NPR, 24 July 2026

Worse yet, Tesla’s woes are clearly having knock-on effects on his rocket company as well. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 23 July 2026

San Francisco’s surging tech industry, which is getting a burst of new business around artificial intelligence, may even have a knock-on effect on Los Angeles-area real estate, Haze said. — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 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