knocking
nounUS /ˈnɑkɪŋ/ · UK /ˈnɒkɪŋ/
1
An act in which something is knocked on, or the sound thus produced
- These strange openings and closings and knockings were warnings and reminders from the spirits who attend the dying.1893, W. B. Yeats, The Celtic Twilight:
- There was no response to continued knockings.1901, Carson Jay Lee, Oswald Langdon:
1 more example
- Recorded live to CD with new instrumentation--artillery shells, tuned suspension cables, boxes filled with springs--and deemphasized guitar parts, it's a beautiful collection of echoes and whispers, drones and knockings, with a gently swelling sense of the sinister.2006 July 21, Keith Harris, Monica Kendrick, Peter Margasak, Bob Mehr, Miles Raymer, Neil Tesser, “The Treatment”, in Chicago Reader:
2
Automotive, Transport, Vehicles A repetitive ping, knock, or similar sound coming from an engine in which there are repeated uncontrolled explosions in the combustion chamber.
- Sir―I was greatly interested in a short article in The Motor Cycle on the subject of engine knocking.1914 November 14, The Motor Cycle, London, page 528, column 1:
- Knocking can also occur at high speed, but that may go undetected by the driver.2021 December 23, The Road Ahead, Brisbane, page 56, column 1:
- Related terms
- cherry knocking, knocking on heaven's door, knocking shop, knocking-shop, nigger knocking, port knocking, roof knocking, sock-knocking