What does Knuckle mean?

Definitions for Knuckle
ˈnʌk əlknuck·le

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Knuckle.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. knuckle, knuckle joint, metacarpophalangeal jointverb

    a joint of a finger when the fist is closed

  2. knuckleverb

    press or rub with the knuckles

  3. knuckleverb

    shoot a marble while keeping one's knuckles on the ground

Wiktionary

  1. knucklenoun

    Any of the joints between the phalanges of the fingers.

  2. knucklenoun

    A mechanical joint.

  3. knucklenoun

    A cut of meat.

  4. knucklenoun

    The curved part of the cushion at the entrance to the pockets on a cue sports table.

  5. knuckleverb

    To apply pressure, or rub or massage with one's knuckles.

    He knuckled the sleep from his eyes.

  6. Etymology: From the diminutive of a word for bone, found in Knochen

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. KNUCKLEnoun

    Etymology: cnucle, Saxon; knockle, Dutch.

    Thus often at the Temple-stairs we’ve seen
    Two tritons, of a rough athletick mien,
    Sourly dispute some quarrel of the flood,
    With knuckles bruis’d, and face besmear’d in blood. Samuel Garth.

    We find also that Scotch skinck, which is a pottage of strong nourishment, is made with the knees and sinews of beef, but long boiled: jelly also, which they used for a restorative, is chiefly made of knuckles of veal. Francis Bacon, Nat. Hist.

    Divers herbs have joints or knuckles, as it were stops in their germination; as gillyflowers, pinks, fennel, and corn. Francis Bacon, Natural History.

  2. To Knuckleverb

    To submit: I suppose from an odd custom of striking the under side of the table with the knuckles, in confession of an argumental defeat.

    Etymology: from the noun.

ChatGPT

  1. knuckle

    A knuckle is the joint of a finger, where the bones within the digit meet. It typically becomes visible or more prominent when the finger is bent or clenched. In a broader sense, it can also refer to similar joint structures in animal limbs or mechanical structures.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Knucklenoun

    the joint of a finger, particularly when made prominent by the closing of the fingers

  2. Knucklenoun

    the kneejoint, or middle joint, of either leg of a quadruped, especially of a calf; -- formerly used of the kneejoint of a human being

  3. Knucklenoun

    the joint of a plant

  4. Knucklenoun

    the joining pars of a hinge through which the pin or rivet passes; a knuckle joint

  5. Knucklenoun

    a convex portion of a vessel's figure where a sudden change of shape occurs, as in a canal boat, where a nearly vertical side joins a nearly flat bottom

  6. Knucklenoun

    a contrivance, usually of brass or iron, and furnished with points, worn to protect the hand, to add force to a blow, and to disfigure the person struck; as, brass knuckles; -- called also knuckle duster

  7. Knuckleverb

    to yield; to submit; -- used with down, to, or under

  8. Knuckleverb

    to beat with the knuckles; to pommel

  9. Etymology: [OE. knokel, knokil, AS. cuncel; akin to D. knokkel, OFries. knokele, knokle, G. knchel, Sw. knoge, Dan. knokkel, G. knochen bone, and perh. to E. knock.]

Wikidata

  1. Knuckle

    The knuckles are the joints of the fingers which are brought into prominence when the hand is clenched and a fist is made. The word is cognate to similar words in other Germanic languages, such as the Dutch "Knokkel" or German "Knöchel", i.e., Knöchlein, the diminutive of the German word for bone. Anatomically, it is said that the knuckles consist of the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints of the finger. The knuckles at the base of the fingers may be referred to as the 1st or major knuckles while the knuckles at the midfinger are known as the 2nd and 3rd, or minor, knuckles. However, the ordinal terms are used inconsistently, and can be found referring to any of the knuckles. The physical mechanism behind the popping or cracking sound heard when cracking joints such as knuckles is still uncertain, although it is widely believed to be caused by synovial fluid filling the vacuum left by the joint's displacement.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Knuckle

    nuk′l, n. projecting joint of the fingers; (cook.) the knee-joint of a calf or pig.—v.i. to bend the fingers: to touch the forehead as a mark of respect: to yield.—v.t. (rare) to touch with the knuckle.—ns. Knuck′le-bones, a game (called also Dibs); Knuck′le-bow, the curved part of a sword-guard that covers the fingers; Knuck′le-dust′er, a kind of modern cestus, devised as a protection against garrotters; Knuck′le-joint, a joint where the forked end of a connecting-rod is joined by a bolt to another piece of the machinery.—Knuckle down, to apply one's self with vigour to a task: to submit—in this sense, also Knuckle under. [M. E. knokil; cf. Dut. knokkel; prob. Celt., W. cnwc.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. knuckle

    A sudden angle made on some timbers by a quick reverse of shape, such as the knuckles of the counter-timbers.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce Knuckle?

How to say Knuckle in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Knuckle in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Knuckle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of Knuckle in a Sentence

  1. Ian Russell:

    The anti-science, knuckle-dragging -- if not anti-vax, certainly vaccine-skeptic -- wing of the Republican Party that's on the rise these days, that's not how you win a general election, president Joe Biden needs Covid to be in the rearview mirror by the height of the election season next year in the midterms, so we've got to do everything we can -- within the bounds of reason -- to lower Covid cases so that we can fully reopen the economy, fully reopen schools and just be done with this. A vaccine mandate is a tool that President Joe Biden has to accomplish that goal of getting Covid in a rearview mirror.

  2. Emma Shaw:

    The word loyalist is always portrayed in a really negative light, and that's really frustrating for me, because it's always like,' loyalists, or knuckle draggers, they're in the past, they don't want society to move forward.' And that actually couldn't be further from the truth, especially in regards to the women.

  3. Emma Shaw:

    And that's really frustrating for me, because it's always like,' loyalists, or knuckle draggers, they're in the past, they don't want society to move forward.' And that actually couldn't be further from the truth, especially in regards to the women.

  4. Researcher Lee Woods:

    It's either 6 toes, which is a deformity, or it's a hand, and that's the knuckles, researcher Lee Woods's knuckle-dragging.

  5. Jeff Gordon:

    Spectators need to understand how white-knuckle an experience it is, how mentally draining and how not fun it is, i would rather watch those races than participate in them.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Knuckle#10000#34627#100000

Translations for Knuckle

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

Get even more translations for Knuckle »

Translation

Find a translation for the Knuckle definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Knuckle." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Knuckle>.

Discuss these Knuckle definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for Knuckle? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Browse Definitions.net

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    sound of something in rapid motion
    A brilliant
    B whirring
    C tight
    D alternate

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for Knuckle: