Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To render unconscious: To strike someone so hard that they lose consciousness.
   • To eliminate or defeat decisively: To defeat an opponent, especially in a sports competition, so that they cannot continue.
   • To destroy or disable forcefully: To break or destroy something by striking it.
   • To empty by tapping: To empty the contents of something, like a pipe, by striking it.
   • To overwhelm with admiration: To impress someone so much that they are left in a state of awe or astonishment.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • The powerful punch knocked out the challenger in the first round. (It caused the challenger to become unconscious.)
  • Our team was knocked out of the tournament in the semi-finals. (Our team was eliminated from the competition.)
  • The explosion knocked out all the windows on the street. (It destroyed the windows.)
  • He knocked out his pipe before refilling it with tobacco. (He emptied the ashes from his pipe by tapping it.)
  • Her performance completely knocked out the judges. (It overwhelmed the judges with admiration.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be knocked out": To be extremely tired or exhausted.
  • After the long hike, I was completely knocked out.
• In boxing, a "knockout" (KO) is a victory achieved when an opponent is knocked down and cannot rise before the referee counts to ten.

Variants and Related Words

• Knockout (noun): 1. The act of knocking someone out. 2. A strikingly impressive or attractive person or thing.
  • The boxer won by a knockout in the third round.
  • She was a real knockout in that dress.
• Knocked-out (adjective): 1. Unconscious. 2. Extremely tired. 3. Damaged or destroyed.
  • The knocked-out fighter was taken to the hospital.

Synonyms

• Render unconscious: Stun, kayo (boxing slang).
• Eliminate: Defeat, remove, oust.
• Destroy: Shatter, smash, demolish.
• Impress deeply: Astonish, amaze, dazzle.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Knock out functions as a phrasal verb itself (verb + particle). Its meaning changes from the individual words "knock" and "out."
  • The storm knocked out the power for hours. (It caused the power to fail.)

Related Idioms

• Knock someone's socks off: To greatly impress or amaze someone (similar to the "overwhelm with admiration" sense).
  • The final design will knock the client's socks off.
• Out for the count: Unconscious or in a very deep sleep (related to the boxing term).
  • After his long journey, he was out for the count on the sofa.

Verb

1. empty (as of tobacco) by knocking out
   • knocked out a pipe
2. overwhelm with admiration
   • All the guys were knocked out by her charm
3. destroy or break forcefully
   • The windows were knocked out
4. knock unconscious or senseless
   • the boxing champion knocked out his opponent in a few seconds
5. eliminate
   • knock out a target