knock out
verb
knocked out; knocking out; knocks out
1
: to produce roughly or hastily
2
a(1)
: to defeat (a boxing opponent) by a knockout
(2)
: to make unconscious
the drug knocked him out
b
: to make inoperative or useless
electricity was knocked out by the storm
c
: to get rid of : eliminate
knocked out illegal gambling
3
: to tire out : exhaust
knocked themselves out with work
4
: to cause (an opposing pitcher) to be removed from a baseball game by a batting rally
Examples of knock out in a Sentence
the entire staff knocked itself out getting the project finished on time
Recent Examples on the Web
Battiston was through on goal and Schumacher jumped into his body with such force that the Frenchman was knocked unconscious, had teeth knocked out, damaged his vertebrae and later slipped into a coma.
—
Tim Spiers, New York Times, 3 June 2026
The Warriors were officially knocked out of championship contention during the play-in tournament in April, long after any realistic hope was snuffed out when Jimmy Butler tore his ACL in mid-January.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 3 June 2026
But that punch, if devastating to Chakrabarti’s campaign, had clearly not knocked out Wiener — who was ready Tuesday night with a few punches of his own in a speech to his supporters.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
The storm surge also flooded the Florida Power & Light plant, knocking out all but one boiler.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for knock out
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Tim Spiers, New York Times, 3 June 2026
The Warriors were officially knocked out of championship contention during the play-in tournament in April, long after any realistic hope was snuffed out when Jimmy Butler tore his ACL in mid-January.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 3 June 2026
But that punch, if devastating to Chakrabarti’s campaign, had clearly not knocked out Wiener — who was ready Tuesday night with a few punches of his own in a speech to his supporters.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026
The storm surge also flooded the Florida Power & Light plant, knocking out all but one boiler.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for knock out
Cite this Entry
“Knock out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knock%20out. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
knockout
1 of 2 noun
knock·out
ˈnäk-ˌau̇t 
1
: the act of knocking out : the condition of being knocked out
2
: something or someone very striking or attractive
knockout
adjective
knock out
2 of 2 verbˈnäk-ˈau̇t,
näk-ˈau̇t
: to make unconscious
Medical Definition
knockout
adjective
knock·out
ˈnäk-ˌau̇t
: having all or part of a gene eliminated or inactivated by genetic engineering
knockout mice predisposed to diabetes mellitus serve as animal models in the study of human diabetes
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