as in wearing
to use up all the physical energy of
the entire staff knocked itself out getting the project finished on time
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Recent Examples of knocking out
The damaging winds uprooted trees and tore roof shingles in neighborhoods around Carmichael, knocking out power to more than 13,000 SMUD customers in Sacramento’s northeast suburbs.
—
Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Bugner regained his triple crown — the Euro, Brit and Commonwealth titles — in his next bout, knocking out Richard Dunn in the first round.
—Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2025
Reaching for a portable clothes steamer is my go-to hack for knocking out pesky creases in a flash.
—Maggie Horton, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Logic would suggest the pay TV providers may have an easier time knocking out a carriage deal with ESPN than normal because both sides should want to give customers authentication access to the ESPN app as soon as possible.
—Alex Sherman, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2025
Storms rolled through Green Bay Saturday afternoon, knocking out power for thousands in the area.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2025
Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Bugner regained his triple crown — the Euro, Brit and Commonwealth titles — in his next bout, knocking out Richard Dunn in the first round.
—Erik Pedersen, Deadline, 1 Sep. 2025
Reaching for a portable clothes steamer is my go-to hack for knocking out pesky creases in a flash.
—Maggie Horton, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Logic would suggest the pay TV providers may have an easier time knocking out a carriage deal with ESPN than normal because both sides should want to give customers authentication access to the ESPN app as soon as possible.
—Alex Sherman, CNBC, 21 Aug. 2025
Storms rolled through Green Bay Saturday afternoon, knocking out power for thousands in the area.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knocking out
Verb
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The friends were both wearing some form of American flag on their outfits and were visiting from Syracuse, New York.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
4 Sep. 2025
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The style is perfect for wearing into the cooler months, as it can easily be layered over cozy knits.—
Christina Holevas,
Vogue,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The couple is accused of killing their 7-month-old son despite the fact that authorities have yet to find the infant's remains.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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After killing Martin, Lawson poured gasoline on the dead man's body and his surroundings before leaving the scene, according to police.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Jones remained on Ohio's death row for decades, exhausting most of his appeals, until Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross overturned his murder conviction, freed him from prison and granted him a new trial two years ago.—
Dan Horn,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
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Stop exhausting yourself trying to be different leaders for different generations.—
Dana Williams,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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So people shouldn’t swim against the current, which puts them at risk of tiring out.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The rise of agentic AI, codeless testing and automation points to a future where software quality is both continuous and scalable, meeting rising user expectations without burning out teams or bloating costs.—
Kevin Thompson,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
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That doesn’t mean burning out or micromanaging every detail.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Brightness is stunning, colors pop naturally, and dark scenes stay detailed without washing out, which proves to be great for movie nights or gaming marathons.—
Shubham Yewale,
PC Magazine,
2 Sep. 2025
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On the night of the peak, the moon will be 84% illuminated, washing out most of the shooting stars, according to NASA.—
Hannah Poukish,
Sacbee.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
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This boost setting optimizes and tunes the speaker’s performance to produce a louder and crisper sound without draining the battery charge.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
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Keep your greens crisp by draining, rinsing, and patting them dry before using.—
Cristina Mutchler,
Verywell Health,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Knocking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knocking%20out. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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