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 day shift finally starts taking group photos, knocking out their letters rapidly, and moving on to task 4 simultaneously.
—
Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 16 June 2026
The Jubail petrochemical and industrial complex in Saudi Arabia is offline, knocking out a key world reservoir of resin.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 8 June 2026
The strong winds brought down trees, knocking out power to tens of thousands of people.
—Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 8 June 2026
Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday that between between January and May, Ukrainian troops have struck 15 Russian oil refineries, knocking out 40% of Russia’s main oil refining capacity.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 2 June 2026
Strong to severe thunderstorms with brilliant lightning and booming thunder swept through the Kansas City area early Monday, knocking out power to thousands and downing some trees and limbs in the metro.
—Kansas City Star, 1 June 2026
But for those operating in the gray area—long lunches, two-hour walks, knocking out their latest DIY project while their Slack status stays green—AI adoption is not their friend.
—Robert Henderson, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Communities across the Upper Midwest are cleaning up after tornadoes and severe weather impacted the region over the weekend, damaging and destroying dozens of homes and knocking out power for tens of thousands.
—Chandelis Duster, NPR, 19 Apr. 2026
Later in the decade, the Air Force deployed the more advanced BLU-114/B during the NATO bombing in the Balkans, knocking out more than 70% of Serbia’s national grid in a single night and plunging the country into darkness.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2026
Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 16 June 2026
The Jubail petrochemical and industrial complex in Saudi Arabia is offline, knocking out a key world reservoir of resin.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 8 June 2026
The strong winds brought down trees, knocking out power to tens of thousands of people.
—Madeline Bartos, CBS News, 8 June 2026
Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday that between between January and May, Ukrainian troops have struck 15 Russian oil refineries, knocking out 40% of Russia’s main oil refining capacity.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 2 June 2026
Strong to severe thunderstorms with brilliant lightning and booming thunder swept through the Kansas City area early Monday, knocking out power to thousands and downing some trees and limbs in the metro.
—Kansas City Star, 1 June 2026
But for those operating in the gray area—long lunches, two-hour walks, knocking out their latest DIY project while their Slack status stays green—AI adoption is not their friend.
—Robert Henderson, Forbes.com, 20 May 2026
Communities across the Upper Midwest are cleaning up after tornadoes and severe weather impacted the region over the weekend, damaging and destroying dozens of homes and knocking out power for tens of thousands.
—Chandelis Duster, NPR, 19 Apr. 2026
Later in the decade, the Air Force deployed the more advanced BLU-114/B during the NATO bombing in the Balkans, knocking out more than 70% of Serbia’s national grid in a single night and plunging the country into darkness.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knocking out
Verb
-
Marching for pride and community March attendees and participants ranged from noise-cancelling-headphone-wearing infants to LGBTQ+ elders, and many shared the same sentiments of promoting unity and community during Pride Month.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
14 June 2026
-
The culprit — wearing tinted hippie glasses, a white tank top and a flower-print skirt — responded with a sheepish shrug and a smile.—
Antonio Ferme,
Variety,
14 June 2026
Verb
-
Tom then explains the actual Trolley Problem, the philosophical debate about having to choose whether to pull a lever that will prevent a runaway trolley from killing multiple people, but will still result in the death of a single person.—
Jen Chaney,
Vulture,
17 June 2026
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But the Israeli military has yet to fully stop hostilities, killing at least four people in separate strikes Tuesday on Lebanon, according to Lebanese state media.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
Verb
-
The Spurs seemed emotionally spent after exhausting all of their energy in unseating the defending champions.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
Trapped by high interest rates and the cumulative weight of inflation, the bottom 80 percent of earners are aggressively pulling back on discretionary goods, exhausting credit options and downgrading to private-label and discount brands.—
Arthur Zaczkiewicz,
Footwear News,
10 June 2026
Verb
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In the Los Angeles Times, Seema Mehta and Nicole Nixon report that Steyer’s ability to appear everywhere ended up tiring out voters.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
10 June 2026
-
Meanwhile, Shenzhen startup EngineAI can be forgiven for tiring out its PM01 humanoid.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
Leaders are often portrayed as either thriving or burning out; success stories or cautionary tales.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2026
-
And the difference between making a career and building a flywheel is the difference between burning out at year ten and still going at year thirty.—
Daren Smith,
IndieWire,
27 May 2026
Verb
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One is something breaking, something wearing out, something being damaged through use, and then there’s also collision.—
Joel Feder,
The Drive,
10 June 2026
-
As plastics break down, whether that be through washing polyester clothing or wearing out our tires, microscopic particles of plastic shed, small enough to be picked up and transported by the air.—
Simmone Shah,
Time,
7 May 2026
Verb
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Slow watering also prevents damage to the plants and protects the soil from washing out.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
19 May 2026
-
Andrew Tate is not washing out.—
Dan Adler,
Vanity Fair,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Other actions to reduce risk include avoiding exposure during peak feeding times at dusk and dawn, wearing long sleeves and pants to prevent mosquito bites, and draining standing water in yards and gardens to minimize breeding areas.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
17 June 2026
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Water also was standing or draining so slowly as to seem to be standing at a prep sink and the mop sink.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Knocking out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knocking%20out. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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