as in to roam
to move about from place to place aimlessly
we knocked about from town to town, looking for work
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in rollicking
being rough or noisy in a high-spirited way
a knockabout game of football in the mud
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in nomad
a person who roams about without a fixed route or destination
the book is one writer's journey of self-discovery as a restless knockabout
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of knock (about)
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2017
Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Though thematically vague, thinly plotted and without a reliably sympathetic soul to cling to, the movie has a mutinous energy and an absurd, knockabout charm; even its violence is more quirky than brutal.
—Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2017
Noun
This new film is a very black comedy that is also a heist story with some bloody violence, along with a bit of knockabout slapstick and a theme of family bonds.
—Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 30 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knock (about)
Verb
-
Neanderthals mostly lived in Europe, while more recent additions to the family, the Denisovans, roamed Asia.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Soon, Norton Tire outfitted most of the 20,000 cars that roamed the young city’s streets by the early 1930s.—
Howard Cohen,
Miami Herald,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Those self-aware lyrics are paired with breezy melody and a gently rollicking rhythm, making this feel like a freewheeling summertime favorite.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
24 Mar. 2026
-
His lightning guitar work — alongside a mandolinist, fiddler, upright-bassist and banjo player who are not too shabby on their respective strings themselves — delivered a rollicking half-hour that gave the fans in the bleachers plenty to dance to.—
Jared Kaufman,
Twin Cities,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Under the Zagros Mountains outside Shiraz, a family of Iranian nomads and their reticent sons investigate the disappearance of twelve sheep while navigating their flock through the modern city of poets in this dreamy documentary.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The rooms Eschewing the predictable Greek island white-on-white aesthetic, the look is more global nomad than Cycladic purist.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Reynolds was dressed in a safari hat, as if prepared to wrangle any animal that happened to wander in off the Santa Monica Freeway.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
While the other males in the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve’s Kea group spend lots of time squabbling and making threat displays, Bruce is free to wander the aviary and monopolize feeding stations and prime perches, the study reports.—
Elizabeth Anne Brown,
Scientific American,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Academy Award winner Questlove kicks off the 25th Tribeca Festival with the boisterous, decades-spanning story of this legendary American band and its enigmatic founder, Maurice White.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Despite their over-the-top reputations, their contributions are less about adding a boisterous EDM drop and more about accentuating Toki’s strengths.—
E.R. Pulgar,
Pitchfork,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Voice like a warm porchlight left on for wanderers who kissed goodbye too soon or stayed too long.—
Alex Suskind,
Pitchfork,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Unlike most comets, which originate in the Kuiper Belt or the Oort Cloud, this icy wanderer formed around another star before drifting into our cosmic neighborhood.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Away from the city’s concrete and sounds, the scent of herbs drifts through the air and light pours in from the floor-to-ceiling windows.—
Travel + Leisure Editors,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Oil prices drifted up and down Wednesday and showed that caution remains in financial markets.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The lively, spirited daughter of an Afghani immigrant family chafes against the traditional values of her family and immigrant community.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
-
Today, Salado’s historic roots blend with a lively creative scene.—
Lauren Jones,
Travel + Leisure,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Knock (about).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knock%20%28about%29. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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