knockabout
adjective
knock·about
ˈnäk-ə-ˌbau̇t 
1
: suitable for rough use
knockabout clothing
2
a
: being noisy and rough : boisterous
knockabout games
b
: characterized by boisterous antics and often extravagant burlesque
knockabout comedy
3
of a sailing vessel
: having a simplified rig marked by absence of bowsprit and topmast
a knockabout sloop
knockabout
noun
Examples of knockabout in a Sentence
He lived a knockabout life in the city.
a knockabout game of football in the mud
Recent Examples on the Web
Though thematically vague, thinly plotted and without a reliably sympathetic soul to cling to, the movie has a mutinous energy and an absurd, knockabout charm; even its violence is more quirky than brutal.
—
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2017
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Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Knockabout.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knockabout. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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knockabout
adjective
knock·about
ˈnäk-ə-ˌbau̇t
: being noisy and rough : boisterous
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