Definitions for Knife
naɪf; naɪvzKnife

Princeton's WordNet(2.60 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. knifenoun

   edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle

2. knifenoun

   a weapon with a handle and blade with a sharp point

3. tongue, knifeverb

   any long thin projection that is transient

   "tongues of flame licked at the walls"; "rifles exploded quick knives of fire into the dark"

4. knife, stabverb

   use a knife on

   "The victim was knifed to death"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. knifenoun

   A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may be pointed for piercing.

2. knifenoun

   A weapon designed with the aforementioned specifications intended for slashing and/or stabbing and too short to be called a sword. A dagger.

3. knifenoun

   Any blade-like part in a tool or a machine designed for cutting, such as the knives for a chipper.

4. knifeverb

   To cut with a knife.

5. knifeverb

   To use a knife to injure or kill by stabbing, slashing, or otherwise using the sharp edge of the knife as a weapon.

6. knifeverb

   To cut through as if with a knife.

7. knifeverb

   To betray, especially in the context of a political slate.

8. knifeverb

   To positively ignore, especially in order to denigrate. compare cut

9. Etymology: knif, from late cnif, from Old Norse knífr (compare Danish/Swedish kniv), from knībaz (compare Low German Knief, Knäip ‘penknife’), from ‘to pinch’ (compare Dutch knijpen, Low German kniepen, Old High German gniffen), from gneibʰ- (compare Lithuanian gnýbti, žnýbti ‘to pinch’, gnaibis ‘pinching’). Replaced Middle English sexe.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Knifenoun

   plur. knives. An instrument edged and pointed, wherewith meat is cut, and animals killed.

   Etymology: cnif , Sax. kniff , Danish.

   Come, thick night,
   And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
   That my keen knife see not the wound it makes. William Shakespeare.

   Blest powers, forbid thy tender life
   Should bleed upon a barbarous knife. Richard Crashaw.

   The sacred priests with ready knives bereave
   The beast of life, and in full bowls receive
   The streaming blood. John Dryden, Æn.

   Ev’n in his sleep he starts, and fears the knife,
   And, trembling, in his arms takes his accomplice wife. Dryd.

   Pain is not in the knife that cuts us; but we call it cutting in the knife, and pain only in ourselves. Isaac Watts.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Knifenoun

   an instrument consisting of a thin blade, usually of steel and having a sharp edge for cutting, fastened to a handle, but of many different forms and names for different uses; as, table knife, drawing knife, putty knife, pallet knife, pocketknife, penknife, chopping knife, etc.

2. Knifenoun

   a sword or dagger

3. Knifeverb

   to prune with the knife

4. Knifeverb

   to cut or stab with a knife

5. Etymology: [OE. knif, AS. cnf; akin to D. knijf, Icel. knfr, Sw. knif, Dan. kniv.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Knife

   A knife is a cutting tool with a cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knife-like tools were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of rock, bone, flint, and obsidian, knives have evolved in construction as technology has, with blades being made from bronze, copper, iron, steel, ceramics, and titanium. Many cultures have their unique version of the knife. Due to its role as humankind's first tool, certain cultures have attached spiritual and religious significance to the knife. Most modern-day knives follow either a fixed-blade or a folding construction style, with blade patterns and styles as varied as their makers and countries of origin.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Knife

   nīf, n. an instrument for cutting: a sword or dagger:—pl. Knives (nīvz).—v.t. to stab with a knife: (Amer.) to try to destroy a political candidate's chances by a treacherous attack.—ns. Knife′-and-fork′, a trencherman; Knife′-board, a board on which knives are cleaned: (coll.) the seat running along the top of an omnibus; Knife′-boy, a boy employed in cleaning knives; Knife′-edge (mech.), a sharp piece of steel like a knife's edge serving as the axis of a balance, &c.; Knife′-grind′er, one who grinds or sharpens knives; Knife′-mon′ey, a knife-shaped bronze currency formerly used in China; Knife′-rest, a glass or metal utensil on which to rest a carving-knife or fork; Knife′-tray, a tray for holding knives.—War to the knife, mortal combat. [A.S. cníf: Ger. kneif, knife, kneifen, to nip.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. knife

   An old name for a dagger: thus Lady Macbeth-- "That my keen knife see not the wound it makes."

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. knife

   Song lyrics by knife -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by knife on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Edge Tool
   • Injure
   • Weapon

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Knife' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3678

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Knife' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3130

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'Knife' in Nouns Frequency: #1294

How to pronounce Knife?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Knife in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Knife in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Knife in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of Knife in a Sentence

1. Kathleen Brooks:

   With the EU referendum on a knife-edge, the market is right to look elsewhere for direction. Some of this came from Yellen, who reinforced (the) message that the Fed will slow the pace of rate hikes if the U.S. economy posts another dismal jobs report for June.

2. Bonnie Baha:

   Right now, to step into this, you'd be catching a falling knife, with oil at $40 a barrel, these people can't make it ... At some point there are going to be some bargains out there, but we're not stepping into that now.

3. Nicholas Paul Godejohn:

   All the planning she did, every bit of it. She pretty much willed the knife in my hand to commit the deed herself. She is the mastermind behind the entire thing.

4. Van Dyke:

   It's a tragedy that could have been prevented with one simple step, at any step during that 20-minute rampage -- if Laquan McDonald had dropped that knife -- Laquan McDonald would have been here today.

5. Tim Gilmore:

   You dont know whats going through the guys mind, you dont know whether hes got a knife or something.

Popularity rank by frequency of use