knap

verb

Definition of knapnext
as in to chisel

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of knap Rocks could be knapped, or shaped, into knife blades, spear points, ax heads, and more, allowing hunter-gatherers to take on new prey and use animal remains for clothing and other things. — Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024 Our Paleolithic ancestors learned to knap delicate blades from round stone cobbles, hunt large game and cook their food. — Herman Pontzer, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022 The course was jointly led by Ojibwe elders, who taught him how to knap flint, tan hides and build wigwams. — Franz Lidz Meghan Dhaliwal, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022 Knowing how to make a friction fire, or how to whittle a paddle out of a log, or how to knap stone arrowheads all have their place in a survival situation (particularly fire making). — Jim Baird, Field & Stream, 3 Aug. 2020 There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow. — Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knap
  1. chisel
  2. carve
  3. sculpture
  4. grave
  5. hew
  6. sculpt
  7. cut
Verb
  • There’s an original and insightful feature-length documentary that could have been chiseled out from under all the generic padding here.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Visions, enhanced with shadows and emotion, came to life on marble through sketching the stone and chiseling and carving entirely by hand.
    — Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of chisel
Verb
  • Connectivity Days started at CCA last school year—once a month, time is carved out of the school day for students to come together with the hope of building a stronger sense of belonging on campus.
    — Karen Billing, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Callaway said in the immediate aftermath of the first cases being announced he was deeply disappointed the county released information warning people to wash their pumpkins and avoid touching ones that had been carved.
    — Hannah Poukish, Sacbee.com, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of carve
Verb
  • That site is temporarily closed, and many of the items—pedestals and furniture, photographs and tools—are coming from Paris for this show, giving Brancusi’s cool, abstract sculptures a rich, human context.
    — Shauna Lyon, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Some resemble ancient oil lamps and brooches; others take after Barbara Hepworth and Isamu Noguchi sculptures.
    — Anthony Paletta, Curbed, 23 May 2026
Definition of sculpture
Verb
  • The three graves date to Late Antiquity and were concentrated within just a few square meters, according to Inrap.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2026
  • In one cemetery, families of deceased cartel operatives erected graves the size of suburban homes.
    — Kevin Sieff, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of grave
Verb
  • Identifying an abbot Rodwell found the bones were still jumbled together inside the coffin, which was hewn from a single block of limestone and measured about 7 feet (2 meters) long, with walls about 4 inches (10 centimeters) thick on average.
    — Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026
  • What’s most fascinating is determining which scenes hew closely to the final cut (Scream, for example) and which ones omit memorable details (Evil Dead II).
    — Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of hew
Verb
  • The open-air lobby greets you with its showstopping three-story living wall sculpted into the US Virgin Islands archipelago.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Last year at Comic-Con, Mullins live-sculpted the reconstructed face of the Rancho Bernardo toddler.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of sculpt
Verb
  • Jovany Barragan’s second field goal — a 35-yarder on an untimed down — cut Serra’s deficit to 21-6 at halftime.
    — Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2026
  • The verdict came just three days after regulators seized Ueno Bank, cutting nearly 3 million customers off from their savings and bank cards and setting off a political crisis.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of cut

Browse Nearby Words

knacks
knap
knapped
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Cite this Entry

“Knap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knap. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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