plural knives
ˈnīvz 
often attributive
1
a
: a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade fastened to a handle
b
: a weapon or tool resembling a knife
2
: a sharp cutting blade or tool in a machine
3
: surgery sense 4
—usually used in the phrase under the knife
knifed; knifing
1
: to use a knife on
specifically
: to stab, slash, or wound with a knife
2
: to cut, mark, or spread with a knife
3
: to try to defeat by underhanded means
4
: to move like a knife in
birds knifing the autumn sky
: to cut a way with or as if with a knife blade
the cruiser knifed through the heavy seas
Examples of knife in a Sentence
Noun
Each dinner guest gets two forks, a knife, and a spoon.
He pulled a knife on me and threatened to stab me with it.
Verb
He died after being knifed in the chest.
ships knifing through the waves
Recent Examples on the Web
Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Another finds Kid trapped in an elevator with an enemy, holding a knife between his teeth to strike back while his hands are pinned down.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
Don’t slash the wound with a knife or try to suck out venom.
—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024
Inside the home, firefighters found the bodies of 47-year-old Karen Denise Boswell and her 6-year-old son Ethan Stephens, both with stab wounds from a kitchen knife, according to Columbia County charging documents.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
The order came after investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit on Saturday alleging the poultry processor and its affiliated companies illegally employed children under the age of 18 to debone raw meat with sharp knives.
—Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
The victim was stabbed once in the back with a knife and sustained a laceration.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Moyer told police his intention was to scare Whitehead, but admitted to stabbing him in the head with a knife, the newspaper reported.
—Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2024
One was brought into court with a bandage over his ear — the result, according to a video released by Russia's security services, of an interrogator severing it with a knife.
—Charles Maynes, NPR, 25 Mar. 2024
Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2024
MacKinnon’s ability to knife through multiple waves of defenders who are ostensibly set up specifically with a plan to contain him was on display earlier this month at Madison Square Garden.
—Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2024
Then after an Izzo timeout with 5:23 to play, Walker knifed into the paint and finished through traffic to put MSU up, 56-63.
—Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2024
But redshirt senior forward Patrick McCaffery knifed through the heart of the Terps’ defense to bank in a layup just before the buzzer sounded to send Iowa into halftime with a 37-31 lead.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 15 Feb. 2024
In 2006, Park Geun-hye, then a conservative opposition leader, was knifed by a man with a box cutter during an election rally.
—Hyung-Jin Kim and Jiwon Song, USA TODAY, 2 Jan. 2024
Jones knifed through the Dallas Cowboys for 118 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns in a 48-32 upset win.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2024
Folsom threatened to regain the lead late in the third quarter, but Drew Cofield knifed through the line to block Lincoln Phelps’ 32-yard field-goal attempt and teammate David Montes recovered.
—Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2023
Investigators believe she was knifed in her home, stumbled outside and collapsed.
—Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 25 Oct. 2023
Noun
In January, a disgruntled older man stabbed Mr. Lee in the neck with a knife.
—Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Another finds Kid trapped in an elevator with an enemy, holding a knife between his teeth to strike back while his hands are pinned down.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
Don’t slash the wound with a knife or try to suck out venom.
—Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, 5 Apr. 2024
Inside the home, firefighters found the bodies of 47-year-old Karen Denise Boswell and her 6-year-old son Ethan Stephens, both with stab wounds from a kitchen knife, according to Columbia County charging documents.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
The order came after investigators with the U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit on Saturday alleging the poultry processor and its affiliated companies illegally employed children under the age of 18 to debone raw meat with sharp knives.
—Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
The victim was stabbed once in the back with a knife and sustained a laceration.
—Anne Gelhaus, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Moyer told police his intention was to scare Whitehead, but admitted to stabbing him in the head with a knife, the newspaper reported.
—Mitchell Willetts, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2024
One was brought into court with a bandage over his ear — the result, according to a video released by Russia's security services, of an interrogator severing it with a knife.
—Charles Maynes, NPR, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
The Monitor has heard many accounts of individuals knifed for a bag of flour.
—Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2024
MacKinnon’s ability to knife through multiple waves of defenders who are ostensibly set up specifically with a plan to contain him was on display earlier this month at Madison Square Garden.
—Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 18 Feb. 2024
Then after an Izzo timeout with 5:23 to play, Walker knifed into the paint and finished through traffic to put MSU up, 56-63.
—Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 21 Jan. 2024
But redshirt senior forward Patrick McCaffery knifed through the heart of the Terps’ defense to bank in a layup just before the buzzer sounded to send Iowa into halftime with a 37-31 lead.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 15 Feb. 2024
In 2006, Park Geun-hye, then a conservative opposition leader, was knifed by a man with a box cutter during an election rally.
—Hyung-Jin Kim and Jiwon Song, USA TODAY, 2 Jan. 2024
Jones knifed through the Dallas Cowboys for 118 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns in a 48-32 upset win.
—Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 18 Jan. 2024
Folsom threatened to regain the lead late in the third quarter, but Drew Cofield knifed through the line to block Lincoln Phelps’ 32-yard field-goal attempt and teammate David Montes recovered.
—Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 10 Dec. 2023
Investigators believe she was knifed in her home, stumbled outside and collapsed.
—Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 25 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'knife.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near knife
Cite this Entry
“Knife.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knife. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Medical Definition
knife
noun
plural knives
ˈnīvz
1
: any of various instruments used in surgery primarily to sever tissues: as
a
: a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade attached to a handle
b
: an instrument that cuts by means of an electric current
2
: surgery sense 3
—usually used in the phrase under the knife
went under the knife yesterday
was afraid of the knife
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