knock down
verb17 senses
- 1To hit or knock (something or someone), intentionally or…
- 2To demolish.
- 3To reduce the price of.
- 4To disassemble for shipment.
- 5To accumulate money, usually through crime.
- 6To embezzle.
- 7To drink fast.
- 8To spend extravagantly for a celebration.
- 9To approve a drinking toast by banging glasses on the table.
- 10To nominate (someone) to speak.
- 11To introduce (someone) to another, especially to a woman.
- 12To reject or override a decision.
- 13To sentence (someone) to prison or other sentence.
- 14At an auction, to declare (something) sold with a blow…
- 15To sell.
- 16To send a stop signal to ensure a train is signalled to…
- 17To reduce the burning of (a fire), as by cooling it with…
› To hit or collide with
To hit or knock (something or someone), intentionally or accidentally, so that it falls.
- As I took the can off the shelf, I knocked down the one beside it.
- He was out tomcatting one night / When he started a big fight / And a big policeman came and knocked him down.1977, Sonny James, “In the Jailhouse Now”, in Sonny James In Prison, In Person:
1 more example
- I won't surrender / I will fight better / You lock me out, you knock me down / But I will find my way around2012, Ingrid Michaelson, “This Is War”, in Human Again:
To demolish.
- We knocked down the garden shed when we moved.
Informal To reduce the price of.
- They knocked it down by another £5, so we bought it.
To disassemble for shipment.
Usually passive voice
- The furniture is shipped knocked down, so assembly is required.
› To acquire money, especially illicitly
To accumulate money, usually through crime.
To embezzle.
› To drink or party
Informal To drink fast.
- I love to go down the pub and knock down pints of lager.
› To choose, declare or approve.
To approve a drinking toast by banging glasses on the table.
- They click their glasses and knock down the toast.1954, H. C. N. de Lanerolle, "Well, Mudaliyar!" and Other Plays (page 179)
Archaic To nominate (someone) to speak.
Australia, New Zealand To introduce (someone) to another, especially to a woman.
To reject or override a decision.
- The judge knocked the award down to a half-million.
To sentence (someone) to prison or other sentence.
At an auction, to declare (something) sold with a blow from the gavel.
- The picture was knocked down for £50.
To sell.
- She had to wait for the end of the sale before these matters were put up, and as the auctioneer was in a hurry to get the sale over, and most of the bidders had left, she got a full set of servant's bedroom furniture knocked down to her for five pounds[.]1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 74:
Rail transport, Railways, Transport Dated To send a stop signal to ensure a train is signalled to stop at the correct point.
Firefighting, Government To reduce the burning of (a fire), as by cooling it with water or dirt.
- Synonyms
- knock over, demolish, destroy, sell, reduce