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Recent Examples of knap
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
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
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
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
Shaggy Briton woodsmen in the vast pre-Roman forests of Cumbria, gripping their sacred Langdale axes, with glimmering heads knapped from the rare volcanic greenstone mined from the Pike of Stickle.
—Jonny Diamond, Longreads, 8 June 2019
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
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
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
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
Shaggy Briton woodsmen in the vast pre-Roman forests of Cumbria, gripping their sacred Langdale axes, with glimmering heads knapped from the rare volcanic greenstone mined from the Pike of Stickle.
—Jonny Diamond, Longreads, 8 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knap
Verb
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Restructuring Burns and other veterans would chisel away at that 2026 cap space.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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When strung together, the words fully operational mobile McDonald’s unit overwhelm my synapses; there could be no funnier or dumber phrase to chisel out of the English language.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2025
Verb
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Speaking of dunk contests, the No. 87 overall pick, 5-foot-7 Spud Webb, won that 1986 event and carved out a role in the NBA over a 12-year career despite his stature.—
Lev Akabas,
Sportico.com,
25 June 2025
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Banda went on a walk in the area, rough terrain carved with steep cliffs and covered with thick forest, and nearly lost her life with a misstep that dropped her hundreds of feet and out of reach for days.—
Jose R. Gonzalez,
USA Today,
24 June 2025
Verb
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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
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Bourdelle’s voluminous works in marble, bronze, and wood fill the lofty mezzanine, while his bronze sculptures Héraklès archer (Hercules the Archer) and Centaure mourant (Dying Centaur) highlight the garden.—
Kasia Dietz,
Travel + Leisure,
29 July 2024
Verb
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The superpower that succeeds in persuading key Southeast Asian countries—such as Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam—to hew closely to its line stands a better chance of realizing its objectives in Asia.—
Yuen Foong Khong,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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The translation seems to hew most closely, though not exactly, to the King James Version of the Bible, which is used by many Protestant denominations.—
Sophie Hills,
Christian Science Monitor,
23 June 2025
Verb
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Strategically ventilated and sculpted for compression in the right places, it’s designed to help Kipyegon conserve energy at 15 mph over four punishing laps.—
Gillian Oakenfull,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
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It is made with breathable fabric that smooths and sculpts the tummy, waist, thighs and buttocks.—
Jené Luciani Sena
may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom.,
FOXNews.com,
20 June 2025
Verb
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The prospect of trying to cut open a stubborn 5-4-1 block in the Orlando heat could have become torturous quite quickly.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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The latest setback was the Senate parliamentarian striking down several provisions of the bill that were designed to cut spending.—
Haisten Willis,
The Washington Examiner,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Knap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knap. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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