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knocks (about)

verb

present tense third-person singular of knock (about)
as in wanders
to move about from place to place aimlessly we knocked about from town to town, looking for work

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knocks (about)
  1. wanders
  2. roams
  3. drifts
  4. strolls
  5. cruises
Verb
  • Perhaps most telling of all, Stone cuts the character of Carlotta, a governess born to circus performers who wanders through the play like a lost clown, origin-less, amused, and sad.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • His storytelling wanders us through the city, from one seemingly unplanned pocket of interest to another—what a media or urban critic (and Wilson is both) might call a dérive.
    — Lila Allen, Architectural Digest, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of wanders
Verb
  • Ripper Row — Jack the Ripper roams the streets in search of his next victim.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 8 Sep. 2026
  • In addition to two shop cats named Franklin and Nigel, a rotating cast of adoptable rescue cats roams the store.
    — Yvonne Villaseñor, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of roams
Verb
  • Our low, bargelike vessel drifts serenely, unhurriedly along the brown river.
    — Charlie Hobbs, Condé Nast Traveler, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Like the Argentinian, Mora drifts freely between the lines, demanding the ball from team-mates before driving purposefully at goal.
    — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of drifts
Verb
  • The setting is contemporary Paris in crisis, when civil unrest, rather amorphously presented apart from increasing numbers of military on the streets, makes evening strolls potentially problematic.
    — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Erika Girardi strolls in, followed by Teddi Mellencamp and her new Rachel Maddow power-lesbian haircut.
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of strolls
Verb
  • There’s optimism Kansas could have an underrated defense, TCU cruises to a relative easy 30-plus points.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The final day is spent at sea as Evrima cruises back to Reykjavik.
    — Chrissie McClatchie, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of cruises
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.

Browse Nearby Words

knocks
knocks (about)
knocks back
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Cite this Entry

“Knocks (about).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knocks%20%28about%29. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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