KNOCKING OFF Synonyms: 240 Similar and Opposite Words

knocking off

verb

present participle of knock off

as in stopping

to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end knock it off!

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in abandoning

to stop doing (something) permanently decided it was time to knock off telling fantastic fibs about her family background

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as in subtracting

to take away (an amount or number) from a total a proposal to knock 10 cents off the gasoline tax

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as in robbing

to remove valuables from (a place) unlawfully Bonnie and Clyde coped with the Great Depression by knocking off banks

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as in murdering

to put to death deliberately various assassins have tried to knock off the dictator over the years

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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 knocking off Other contenders on the stage gave far better answers, but Jackson is the one who is on the cusp of becoming the Democratic nominee in Maine, where the party has its most realistic shot at knocking off an incumbent Republican Senator. — Philip Elliott, Time, 23 July 2026 But if Bellingham leads the Three Lions to immortality, knocking off the reigning champ in the process, Icons certainly won’t be complaining. — Justin Birnbaum, Sportico.com, 15 July 2026 The same energy that helped elect Zohran Mamdani has fueled a string of insurgent victories, knocking off longtime officeholders and helping progress challengers break through in New York and Colorado. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 14 July 2026 However, this deal takes care of that by knocking off over $300. — Kelsey Fogarty, PC Magazine, 1 July 2026 Wu, a socialist in all but name, is also trying to flex her muscle, backing several state legislative challengers in the hopes of knocking off her enemies, state Sens. — Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 25 June 2026 After Dustin Gimbel, a California artist, called out Nordstrom for allegedly knocking off his sculptures with cardboard copies that were used in store displays, a resolution has been reached. — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 18 June 2026 Shorten race distance by knocking off a couple of laps where needed, among other less-drastic tweaks. — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 11 June 2026 Now three weeks into jogging on his full body weight, Kittle is looking forward to getting cleared for football movements — run blocking, pass protection, route running, and rust knocking off. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 4 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knocking off

Verb

Nets, Disruptions, and Camouflage Close reading, however, reveals a few telling details about what the Pentagon views as best practices for stopping and killing drones.

— Zita Ballinger Fletcher, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026
Defeat technologies are an essential piece in the kill chain, as detection is only the first step to stopping the threat.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 29 July 2026

Definition of stopping

Verb

For Chan, success depends on convincing voters that the city’s challenges do not require abandoning the progressive politics that have long identified it.

— Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 1 Aug. 2026
Robinson is right that the culture has professionalized without abandoning its roots.

— Peter Su, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026

Definition of abandoning

Verb

Days later, the contract was amended with one change, subtracting a single dollar, dropping it to $249,999 — one dollar below the threshold requiring City Council approval.

— Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 24 July 2026
For example, a card with a $95 annual fee that earns $580 in cash back over the course of a year leaves you $485 ahead after subtracting the fee.

— Miranda Marquit, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 July 2026

Definition of subtracting

Verb

Before that, he had been convicted assaulting someone at a Berlin high school in 2019, as well as robbing someone of a pair of headphones nearly a year later.

— Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 26 July 2026
The families of two men who discovered through DNA tests that they were switched at birth 38 years ago are accusing a North Dakota hospital of robbing them of the lives they were supposed to lead.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026

Definition of robbing

Verb

Their son pleaded guilty in October 2022 to murdering four students and injuring several others in the November 2021 shooting at Oxford High School and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

— Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 30 July 2026
On that Sabbath morning, a gunman shot his way into the synagogue, shouting antisemitic invective and murdering 11 worshipers from the three congregations sharing the building — Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life.

— Peter Smith, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

Definition of murdering

Verb

Gabby Williams and Tiffany Hayes scored 15 points apiece in the first of back-to-back matchups between the teams at Chase Center, where a raucous sellout crowd cheered Golden State ending a two-game skid that followed a nine-game winning streak.

— ABC News, ABC News, 2 Aug. 2026
That could prove to be true after all thanks to the improbable return of Owens, who shocked the world by coming back just a year and a half after what appeared to be career-ending neck surgery.

— Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of ending

Verb

And in 1992, nine months into unemployment after quitting her decade-long career in wealth management, tacos became the gateway to entrepreneurship.

— Danielle Dorsey, Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026
Stock plan provisions relating to death are usually more employee-friendly than those for other types of job termination, such as being laid off, getting fired, or quitting to work for another company.

— Bruce Brumberg, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Definition of quitting

Verb

The reduction may not lower monthly payments for many borrowers, and a major risk involves servicers deducting incorrect payment amounts, which can be difficult to reverse.

— Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026
Prosecutors say Goldstein diverted money from his law firm to pay gambling debts and falsely deducting gambling debts as business expenses.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 July 2026