knock down
Britishverb
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to strike to the ground with a blow, as in boxing
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(in auctions) to declare (an article) sold, as by striking a blow with a gavel
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to demolish
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to dismantle, for ease of transport
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informal to reduce (a price, etc)
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slang to spend (a cheque)
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slang to drink
adjective
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overwhelming; powerful
a knockdown blow
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cheap
I got the table at a knockdown price
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easily dismantled
knockdown furniture
noun
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Take apart for storage or shipping, as in We need to knock down this chest to ship it safely overseas . [Mid-1900s]
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Declare sold at an auction, as by striking a blow with a gavel. For example, That was the last bid, and the first edition was knocked down for only three hundred . [Mid-1700s]
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Reduce the price of, as in They knocked it down by another hundred dollars , or An overabundant harvest will knock down corn prices . [ Colloquial ; mid-1800].
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Earn as wages, as in She knocks down a hundred grand a year . [ Slang ; 1920s]
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Steal, embezzle, as in He was caught knocking down the box-office receipts . This usage may be obsolescent. [ Slang ; mid-1800s] Also see knock over , def. 2.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the name of curiosity, people knocked down fences, flattened peppermint beds, even climbed in David’s windows.
From Literature
In slalom, racers typically knock down gates with their arms or shins, which are protected by plastic shin guards.
From Los Angeles Times
This is that moment right after you get knocked down, right before you get up again and that emotional tenor proceeds for a lot of the novel.
From Los Angeles Times
And then whoosh — whatever the ball hit, it knocked down everything at once.
From Los Angeles Times
I knocked down all the interior walls to create one large, open space.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
