: a copy that sells for less than the original
broadly
: a copy or imitation of someone or something popular
knocked off; knocking off; knocks off
: to stop doing something
1
: to do hurriedly or routinely
knocked off one painting after another
2
: discontinue, stop
knocked off work at five
3
: deduct
knocked off a little to make the price more attractive
4
5
: rob
knocked off a couple of banks
Synonyms
Examples of knockoff in a Sentence
Noun
That purse is a knockoff.
Verb
decided it was time to knock off telling fantastic fibs about her family background
a proposal to knock 10 cents off the gasoline tax
Recent Examples on the Web
Daysia Tolentino, NBC News, 27 Oct. 2023
Stopping knockoff knockwurst and phony fromage The fruit has always been labor-intensive to bring to market, with trees that need to be trained, pruned and harvested by hand.
—Laura Reiley, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
The complaint names 11 online pharmacies in the U.S. and other countries including China and the U.K. Lilly says the firms have imported knockoffs to the U.S. that aren’t Mounjaro, and aren’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
—WSJ, 19 Oct. 2023
Her dedication to passing off a knockoff as designer is unmatched.
—Alex Zaragoza, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
The new warning about knockoffs of Ozempic and similar drugs, which have seen demand surge over their use for weight loss, comes after a counterfeit Ozempic injector pen was discovered being sold at a U.S. pharmacy earlier this year.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2023
Stores with third-party sellers are awash in knockoffs and poor-quality options, and once-helpful tools like reviews are often overrun with fake positive posts.
—Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2023
For marketers and influencers who don’t want to attach their brand images to low-grade offerings and knockoffs, this could be a disincentive.
—Byalexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2023
However, the line between custom figures and knockoffs is thin.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2023
Dana Leigh Smith, Glamour, 13 Nov. 2023
In front of a raucous crowd inside USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion, Cathedral rallied to knock off arch-rival Torrey Pines 25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 15-4 Friday night to win the Open Division title.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Nov. 2023
The Warriors have run off three wins, including knocking off No. 1 Borrego Springs.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Nov. 2023
Elsewhere, Frisco Emerson and Lake Dallas both improved to 2-0, looking to knock off Argyle, which finds itself in an unfamiliar 0-2 spot, in District 3-5AII.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 3 Sep. 2023
Redfern, 45, a former player herself, has already knocked off other milestones.
—Victor Mather, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023
That means about 37% of the 216,000 Michigan residents who were scheduled to renew their plans in June were knocked off the Medicaid rolls, according to new data released Tuesday by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
—Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 30 Aug. 2023
Banning held off Gardena and San Pedro knocked off Narbonne.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2023
Ahead of the bye week, Lone Star came away with a shocking win on a Hail Mary touchdown against Frisco Reedy, knocking off one of its toughest district opponents in the first week of league play.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2023
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Noun
Lundström Halbert said the incident raised the question of who is responsible for proliferating knockoffs.
—Daysia Tolentino, NBC News, 27 Oct. 2023
Stopping knockoff knockwurst and phony fromage The fruit has always been labor-intensive to bring to market, with trees that need to be trained, pruned and harvested by hand.
—Laura Reiley, Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2023
The complaint names 11 online pharmacies in the U.S. and other countries including China and the U.K. Lilly says the firms have imported knockoffs to the U.S. that aren’t Mounjaro, and aren’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
—WSJ, 19 Oct. 2023
Her dedication to passing off a knockoff as designer is unmatched.
—Alex Zaragoza, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023
The new warning about knockoffs of Ozempic and similar drugs, which have seen demand surge over their use for weight loss, comes after a counterfeit Ozempic injector pen was discovered being sold at a U.S. pharmacy earlier this year.
—Alexander Tin, CBS News, 5 Oct. 2023
Stores with third-party sellers are awash in knockoffs and poor-quality options, and once-helpful tools like reviews are often overrun with fake positive posts.
—Heather Kelly, Washington Post, 14 Sep. 2023
For marketers and influencers who don’t want to attach their brand images to low-grade offerings and knockoffs, this could be a disincentive.
—Byalexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2023
However, the line between custom figures and knockoffs is thin.
—James Powel, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2023
Verb
Countless brands try to knock off their designs—with the Align legging being one of the most duped.
—Dana Leigh Smith, Glamour, 13 Nov. 2023
In front of a raucous crowd inside USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion, Cathedral rallied to knock off arch-rival Torrey Pines 25-17, 25-20, 21-25, 23-25, 15-4 Friday night to win the Open Division title.
—Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Nov. 2023
The Warriors have run off three wins, including knocking off No. 1 Borrego Springs.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Nov. 2023
Elsewhere, Frisco Emerson and Lake Dallas both improved to 2-0, looking to knock off Argyle, which finds itself in an unfamiliar 0-2 spot, in District 3-5AII.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 3 Sep. 2023
Redfern, 45, a former player herself, has already knocked off other milestones.
—Victor Mather, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023
That means about 37% of the 216,000 Michigan residents who were scheduled to renew their plans in June were knocked off the Medicaid rolls, according to new data released Tuesday by the state Department of Health and Human Services.
—Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 30 Aug. 2023
Banning held off Gardena and San Pedro knocked off Narbonne.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2023
Ahead of the bye week, Lone Star came away with a shocking win on a Hail Mary touchdown against Frisco Reedy, knocking off one of its toughest district opponents in the first week of league play.
—Lia Assimakopoulos, Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'knockoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1966, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1649, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Dictionary Entries Near knockoff
Cite this Entry
“Knockoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knockoff. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
knock off
verb
: to stop doing something
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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