1
as in stopping
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end
knock it off!
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in abandoning
to stop doing (something) permanently
decided it was time to knock off telling fantastic fibs about her family background
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in subtracting
to take away (an amount or number) from a total
a proposal to knock 10 cents off the gasoline tax
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in robbing
to remove valuables from (a place) unlawfully
Bonnie and Clyde coped with the Great Depression by knocking off banks
Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in murdering
to put to death deliberately
various assassins have tried to knock off the dictator over the years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of knocking off
The Denver Broncos are feeling themselves after knocking off the defending Super Bowl champions.
—
Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
But New York’s play has been lethargic since nearly knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2025
The Broncos will be looking to string together their third straight win after knocking off the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia in back-to-back weeks.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
Four top-10 teams lost this week, with Oregon beating Penn State 30-24 in double overtime, Ole Miss knocking off LSU 24-19 and Alabama winning 24-21 against Georgia on Saturday in addition to Florida State’s Friday loss.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
The Yankees beat the Orioles 3-2 in their regular season finale to finish 94-68, but the Blue Jays won their final game as well, knocking off the Rays 13-4 to clinch the franchise’s first AL East championship since 2015.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
Tom Pelphrey stars as one of the home invaders who is knocking off a biker gang’s stash houses.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
That is a big deal, both in terms of him knocking off the rust of reading a defense in real time and rekindling the chemistry with his offense.
—Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 5 Sep. 2025
So, knocking off Benet seemed improbable, according to senior outside hitter Bridget Ferriter.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
But New York’s play has been lethargic since nearly knocking off the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 1.
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2025
The Broncos will be looking to string together their third straight win after knocking off the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia in back-to-back weeks.
—Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
Four top-10 teams lost this week, with Oregon beating Penn State 30-24 in double overtime, Ole Miss knocking off LSU 24-19 and Alabama winning 24-21 against Georgia on Saturday in addition to Florida State’s Friday loss.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
The Yankees beat the Orioles 3-2 in their regular season finale to finish 94-68, but the Blue Jays won their final game as well, knocking off the Rays 13-4 to clinch the franchise’s first AL East championship since 2015.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
Tom Pelphrey stars as one of the home invaders who is knocking off a biker gang’s stash houses.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
That is a big deal, both in terms of him knocking off the rust of reading a defense in real time and rekindling the chemistry with his offense.
—Adam Grosbard, Oc Register, 5 Sep. 2025
So, knocking off Benet seemed improbable, according to senior outside hitter Bridget Ferriter.
—Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knocking off
Verb
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The metro Detroit rallies have advocated for causes including stopping immigration crackdowns, stopping authoritarianism, health care, maintaining a positive relationship with Canada amid tariffs, declaring Detroit a sanctuary city, stopping deaths in Gaza and more.—
Darcie Moran,
Freep.com,
17 Oct. 2025
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Nihi has 25 of Sumba’s beloved sandalwood horses, released from their stable once a day to run free through the shallows, stopping to roll around in the sand and nip at each other.—
Katie Lockhart,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Cursing his creator for abandoning him, the Creature seeks his revenge.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
14 Oct. 2025
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The pair reportedly fell into the street, with Bohler abandoning his motorcycle and fleeing the scene on foot.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The leap from knots to links is a relatively small one, but mathematicians can extend the ideas of knot theory to study mind-bending concepts such as higher-dimensional knots, surfaces with knotted edges and difficult-to-imagine objects obtained by subtracting a knot from three-dimensional space.—
Emma R. Hasson,
Scientific American,
3 Oct. 2025
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Business inventories also shrank, subtracting over three percentage points from GDP.—
Amanda Castro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But what the Mets really specialized in was stealing, robbing banks, selling drugs, planting evidence, doing Mob hits and selling civil-service exams, among other rackets.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
15 Oct. 2025
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That said, his highlight reel plays in 2025 included robbing at least four home runs.—
Jeff Sanders,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The episode’s final moments are of Godolkin walking the campus, draped in a blanket, murdering a student and ready to enact his ultimate plan for the future of supes.—
Abbey White,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Oct. 2025
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Gregory Szugyi, who also goes by Gregory Dubelle, had been charged with murdering 36-year-old Antonio Poole in an April 2024 shooting on Kennedy Street in Oakland.—
Nate Gartrell,
Mercury News,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Still, ending the war always required that Hamas agree to a deal—perhaps an ugly one, certainly an imperfect one, but one that would bring a stop to the killing.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
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After Voodoo, D’Angelo went over a decade without releasing music, finally ending that long hiatus at the end of 2014 with Black Messiah.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To lower the risk of heart disease, practice heart healthy behaviors like getting enough quality sleep, eating a nutritious diet and quitting smoking.—
Helen Carefoot,
Flow Space,
17 Oct. 2025
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Now Danny Rohl — unattached after quitting Sheffield Wednesday — has dropped out of contention too.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The review added that the ongoing bit about the deducting from a charitable donation for longer speech set a negative tone.—
Emily Zemler,
Rolling Stone,
16 Sep. 2025
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Using debt wisely can also offer tax advantages, such as deducting mortgage interest from taxable income.—
Gabriel Shahin,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Knocking off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knocking%20off. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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