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Recent Examples of knap
And that’s mostly true; Neanderthals in both places used broadly similar techniques to make similar tools: triangular flakes and points, knapped from flint.
—
ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
If confirmed, our human ancestors started shaping bones by striking them at specific angles in a process known as knapping as much as 1.5 million years ago.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2025
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
His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools.
—1843, 20 Feb. 2020
ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
If confirmed, our human ancestors started shaping bones by striking them at specific angles in a process known as knapping as much as 1.5 million years ago.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2025
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
His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools.
—1843, 20 Feb. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knap
Verb
-
Working on these inward-looking songs has allowed Teasdale and Chambers to feel less hemmed in by their origin story, one that was drawn early on by the press and then chiseled in stone.—
Sophie Williams,
Billboard,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Vincent Kompany and his staff have chiselled a perfect role for him, with Diaz contributing not only on an individual basis, but in a way that really accentuates Bayern’s other attacking virtues.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
That could mean more opportunities for the likes of Bo Jackson and Isaiah West, while Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne will be desperate to carve out opportunities and keep head coach Barry Odom’s side in contention as long as possible.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Nearly 50 years would pass before Gardner climbed that tower again, this time in search of inspiration from the terra cotta friezes of birds of prey and Native American warriors that are carved into the side of the school’s building.—
Diana Lambdin Meyer,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Tobolowsky came late to sculpture, at least as a profession.—
Tribune News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
-
And how can sculpture accomplish the experience of simultaneous collective reception that was formerly its greatest social promise?—
Benjamin H. D. Buchloh,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
Verb
-
Las acciones de Google son especialmente insensibles y graves ante el cierre administrativo temporal del gobierno (shutdown), ignorando las peticiones de funcionarios gubernamentales y organizaciones hispanas que les solicitaron mantener la programación de Univision en el paquete principal.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
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Better yet, the superstar—who recently graved our TV screens on The White Lotus—worked with stylist Brett Alan Nelson to deliver custom outfits for the set.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
In the ensuing years, Wu publicly hewed harder into right-wing talking points about trans people.—
Samantha Riedel,
Them.,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Over the decades, the periodic exchange of rockets forced people on both sides to hunker down into deep defensive tunnels hewn from the solid rock.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Participants can sculpt with air-dry clay, paint on canvas, or craft a collage or mixed-media piece such as a design vision board.—
Staff Author,
Southern Living,
9 Nov. 2025
-
Today, that can mean a stair railing sculpted from cast bronze or a chandelier made of 450 shards of selenite (both, by the way, are Henault commissions).—
Kathryn O’Shea-Evans,
Robb Report,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
An emergency order by the FAA on Thursday said airlines have to cut traffic by 4%, resulting in about 800 flight cancellations for Friday that increased to over 1,000 throughout the day, according to FlightAware.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Southwest Airlines cut about 120 flights Friday.—
JOSH FUNK,
Arkansas Online,
8 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Knap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knap. Accessed 22 Nov. 2025.
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