Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. knuckle, knuckle joint, metacarpophalangeal joint(verb)

   a joint of a finger when the fist is closed

2. knuckle(verb)

   press or rub with the knuckles

3. knuckle(verb)

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

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. knuckle(Noun)

   Any of the joints between the phalanges of the fingers.

2. knuckle(Noun)

   A mechanical joint.

3. knuckle(Noun)

   A cut of meat.

4. knuckle(Noun)

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

5. knuckle(Verb)

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

   He knuckled the sleep from his eyes.

Origin: From the diminutive of a word for bone, found in Knochen

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

1. Knuckle(noun)

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

2. Knuckle(noun)

   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. Knuckle(noun)

   the joint of a plant

4. Knuckle(noun)

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

5. Knuckle(noun)

   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. Knuckle(noun)

   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. Knuckle(verb)

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

8. Knuckle(verb)

   to beat with the knuckles; to pommel

Origin: [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.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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.]

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

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

1. 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.

Images & Illustrations of knuckle