1

knockout

noun knock·out \ ˈnäk-ˌau̇t \

|Updated on: 7 Jul 2018

Examples: knockout in a Sentence

1 a : the act of knocking out : the condition of being knocked out

b (1) : the termination of a boxing match when one boxer has been knocked down and is unable to rise and resume boxing within a specified time

(2) : technical knockout

c : a blow that knocks out an opponent

2 : a sensationally striking, appealing, or attractive person or thing

See knockout defined for English-language learners

See knockout defined for kids

Examples of knockout in a Sentence

He won the match by a knockout.
He scored a knockout in the fourth round.
She's a real knockout in that dress.

Recent Examples of knockout from the Web

Portugal started slow in the last European Championship, going winless in group play and advancing to the knockout round as a third-place team.

— kevin baxter, latimes.com, "World Cup: Saturday's matchups," 29 June 2018
As the World Cup moves from the group stage to the knockout round this weekend, a look at the big political winners and losers of the tournament so far.

— ian bremmer, Time, "The World Cup’s Biggest Winners and Losers So Far—Both On and Off the Field," 29 June 2018
Sixteen of the 32 teams are still alive, and now comes the unforgiving knockout stage, starting Saturday morning with a scintillating matchup between France and Argentina.

— michelle kaufman, miamiherald, "2018 World Cup Round of 16 Preview: Everything You Need to Know," 29 June 2018
Though Mexico had its worst performance of the World Cup on Wednesday, losing 3-0 to Sweden, El Tri achieved its goal of advancing to the knockout round.

— ann killion, SFChronicle.com, "At World Cup, surprises are the new norm," 27 June 2018
World Cup history is littered with stories of teams who scraped into the knockout round then embarked upon a run of redemption.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Lionel Messi got lucky and now he's dangerous in this World Cup," 26 June 2018
In the knockout rounds alone, the club has confidently eliminated this season’s champions of France (Paris Saint-Germain), the likely champions of Italy (Juventus), and now the champions of Germany (Bayern).

— joshua robinson, WSJ, "Real Madrid Survives and Advances to Champions League Final," 1 May 2018
Here's video of the knockout, via Showtime: The champ does it again.

— creg stephenson, AL.com, "Deontay Wilder KOs Luis Ortiz in 10th round, retains WBC heavyweight title," 3 Mar. 2018
The first installment of this season’s Champions League knockout rounds bore out Wicky’s assessment in stark fashion.

— rory smith, New York Times, "The ‘Two Worlds’ of the Champions League Keep Drifting Apart," 22 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'knockout.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of knockout

1887

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

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knockout Synonyms

Synonyms

beaut, beauty, corker, crackerjack (also crackajack), dandy, doozy (or doozie), dream, honey, humdinger, jim-dandy, nifty, peach, pip, pippin, standout;

Near Antonyms

bust, disappointment, dud, failure, flop, lemon, letdown, loser, stinker, turkey;

Related Words

marvel, phenomenon, prodigy, sensation, wonder;

catch, crown jewel, diamond, gem, imperial, jewel, pearl, plum, treasure;

Phrases

something else;

2

knockout

adjective

1 : causing a knockout

a knockout blow

2 : sensationally striking, appealing, or attractive

a knockout dress

3 : having all or part of a gene eliminated or inactivated by genetic engineering

knockout mice predisposed to diabetes mellitus

See knockout defined for English-language learners

Examples of knockout in a Sentence

The Wimbledon tennis tournament is a knockout competition.
a knockout sports car that's the talk of the neighborhood

First Known Use of knockout

1818

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

knockout Synonyms

Synonyms

aesthetic (also esthetic), attractive, beauteous, beautiful, comely, cute, drop-dead, fair, fetching, good, good-looking, goodly, gorgeous, handsome, lovely, lovesome, pretty, ravishing, seemly, sightly, stunning, taking, well-favored;

Antonyms

grotesque, hideous, homely, ill-favored, plain, ugly, unaesthetic, unattractive, unbeautiful, uncomely, uncute, unhandsome, unlovely, unpleasing, unpretty, unsightly;

Near Antonyms

abhorrent, abominable, bad, disagreeable, disgusting, dreadful, foul, frightful, ghastly, horrible, loathsome, nasty, nauseating, objectionable, offensive, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, shocking, sickening, terrible, vile;

unappealing, unappetizing, unimposing, unpleasant, unprepossessing;

frumpish, frumpy, unbecoming, unshapely;

Related Words

alluring, appealing, charming, cunning, delightful, engaging, fascinating, glamorous (also glamourous), prepossessing;

elegant, exquisite, glorious, magnificent, resplendent, splendid, statuesque, sublime, superb;

flawless, perfect, radiant;

dainty, delicate;

personable, pleasant, presentable;

desirable, dishy, dollish, foxy, pulchritudinous, seductive;

arresting, eye-catching, flamboyant, flashy, glossy, showstopping, showy, slick, snazzy, splashy, striking, zingy;

photogenic, telegenic;

knock out

verb

transitive verb

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

See knock out defined for kids

Examples of knock out in a Sentence

the entire staff knocked itself out getting the project finished on time

First Known Use of knock out

1856

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

knock out Synonyms

Synonyms

break, burn out, bust, do in, do up, drain, exhaust, fatigue, frazzle, harass, kill, outwear, tire, tucker (out), wash out, wear, wear out, weary;

Near Antonyms

activate, energize, invigorate, rejuvenate, strengthen, vitalize;

relax, rest, unwind;

Related Words

debilitate, enervate, enfeeble, sap, waste, weaken;

Phrases

wear to a frazzle;

Medical Dictionary

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

Learn More about knockout

See words that rhyme with knockout Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for knockout Spanish Central: Translation of knockout Nglish: Translation of knockout for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of knockout for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about knockout

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