What does knife mean?
Definitions for knife
naɪf; naɪvzknife
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word knife.
Princeton's WordNet
knifenoun
edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle
knifenoun
a weapon with a handle and blade with a sharp point
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"
knife, stabverb
use a knife on
"The victim was knifed to death"
Wiktionary
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.
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.
knifenoun
A weapon designed with the aforementioned specifications intended for slashing and/or stabbing and too short to be called a sword. A dagger.
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.
knifenoun
Any blade-like part in a tool or a machine designed for cutting, such as the knives for a chipper.
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.
knifeverb
To cut with a knife.
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.
knifeverb
To use a knife to injure or kill by stabbing, slashing, or otherwise using the sharp edge of the knife as a weapon.
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.
knifeverb
To cut through as if with a knife.
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.
knifeverb
To betray, especially in the context of a political slate.
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.
knifeverb
To positively ignore, especially in order to denigrate. compare cut
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.
Webster Dictionary
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.
Etymology: [OE. knif, AS. cnf; akin to D. knijf, Icel. knfr, Sw. knif, Dan. kniv.]
Knifenoun
a sword or dagger
Etymology: [OE. knif, AS. cnf; akin to D. knijf, Icel. knfr, Sw. knif, Dan. kniv.]
Knifeverb
to prune with the knife
Etymology: [OE. knif, AS. cnf; akin to D. knijf, Icel. knfr, Sw. knif, Dan. kniv.]
Knifeverb
to cut or stab with a knife
Etymology: [OE. knif, AS. cnf; akin to D. knijf, Icel. knfr, Sw. knif, Dan. kniv.]
Freebase
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
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
knife
An old name for a dagger: thus Lady Macbeth-- "That my keen knife see not the wound it makes."
Suggested Resources
knife
Song lyrics by knife -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by knife on the Lyrics.com website.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'knife' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3678
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'knife' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3130
Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'knife' in Nouns Frequency: #1294
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of knife in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of knife in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9
Examples of knife in a Sentence
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman:
The four Brooklyn Center police officers who initially responded to the scene used de-escalation tactics and seemed to have calmed down Mr. Dimock-Heisler. Even when he sprang from his chair, grabbed a knife and attempted to stab one of the officers, three officers fired their Tasers, with no effect, then, and only then, did they fire their guns.
A jug fills drop by drop The tongue is like a sharp knife kills without drawing blood
Throughout this journey, he repeatedly opened fire with a handgun and used a knife which he both used to seriously injure and kill.
The man got out of his vehicle holding a knife, came towards me and I tried to run but he caught me.
Traders and investors are torn which way prices are going to break. It's a knife edge between optimism and pessimism.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for knife
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- ацҳаAbkhaz
- mes, lemAfrikaans
- ቢላAmharic
- cuitielloAragonese
- خنجر, سكين, مدية, نصل, شفرةArabic
- нусAvaric
- bıçaq, kəsməkAzerbaijani
- бысаҡBashkir
- ножBelarusian
- ножBulgarian
- ছুরি, চাকুBengali
- ཀ་ཀྲ་ལTibetan Standard
- kontellBreton
- coltell, ganivet, punyal, daga, acoltellar, apunyalarCatalan, Valencian
- урсChechen
- ᒨᐦᑯᒫᓐCree
- nůžCzech
- ножьOld Church Slavonic, Church Slavonic, Old Bulgarian
- cyllellWelsh
- kniv, skære, stikkeDanish
- MesserGerman
- ވަޅިDivehi
- μαχαίρι, μαχαιρώνω, λεπίδαGreek
- tranĉiloEsperanto
- cuchillo, puñal, acuchillarSpanish
- nugaEstonian
- labana, aiztoBasque
- کارد, چاقو, خنجر, تیغPersian
- terä, veitsi, puukko, leikata, puukottaaFinnish
- knívurFaroese
- couteau, frapper d'un coup de couteauFrench
- mesWestern Frisian
- scianIrish
- sgianScottish Gaelic
- coitelo, acoitelarGalician
- kyseGuaraní
- છરીGujarati
- skynnManx
- wukaHausa
- סכיןHebrew
- छुरी, चाक़ू, चाकूHindi
- késHungarian
- դանակArmenian
- cultelloInterlingua
- pisauIndonesian
- cultelloInterlingue
- nmaIgbo
- savikInupiaq
- kulteloIdo
- hnífurIcelandic
- lama, accoltellare, coltelloItalian
- ᓴᕕᒃ, savikInuktitut
- ナイフ, 短剣, 小刀, 刀Japanese
- დანაკიGeorgian
- пышақKazakh
- savikKalaallisut, Greenlandic
- កាំបិតKhmer
- ಕತ್ತಿ, ಚಾಕುKannada
- 나이프, 칼Korean
- бычакKyrgyz
- culterLatin
- MesserLuxembourgish, Letzeburgesch
- ມີດLao
- peilisLithuanian
- nazisLatvian
- нож, сече, режеMacedonian
- കത്തിMalayalam
- хутгаMongolian
- सुरीMarathi
- pisauMalay
- sikkinaMaltese
- ဓားBurmese
- knivNorwegian
- mes, lemmetDutch
- knivNorwegian Nynorsk
- knivbladNorwegian
- bééshNavajo, Navaho
- cotèlOccitan
- mookomaanOjibwe, Ojibwa
- ଛୁରୀOriya
- кардOssetian, Ossetic
- ਚਾਕੂPanjabi, Punjabi
- nóżPolish
- چاقوPashto, Pushto
- faca, [[cortar]] [[com]] ([[uma]]) [[faca]], esfaquearPortuguese
- cuntellarRomansh
- im-bugitaKirundi
- cuțit, a da o lovitură de cuțitRomanian
- нож, финка, тесак, порезать, заколоть, перо, резать, лезвие, прирезать, зарезатьRussian
- imbugitaKinyarwanda
- छुरीSanskrit
- چاقونSindhi
- nož, ножSerbo-Croatian
- දණහිසSinhala, Sinhalese
- nôžSlovak
- nožSlovene
- thikëAlbanian
- thipaSouthern Sotho
- kniv, skära, dolk, huggaSwedish
- kisu, makali ya kisuSwahili
- கத்திTamil
- కత్తిTelugu
- чоқу, кордTajik
- มีดThai
- pyçakTurkmen
- kampit, kutsilyoTagalog
- thipaTswana
- bıçakTurkish
- пычакTatar
- پىچاقUyghur, Uighur
- лезо, ніжUkrainian
- چھری, چاقوUrdu
- pichoqUzbek
- dao, con dao, 刀Vietnamese
- couteaWalloon
- imelaXhosa
- מעסערYiddish
- ummeseZulu
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"knife." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. Web. 27 May 2022. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/knife>.
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