knife

[nahyf] /naɪf/

noun, plural knives

[nahyvz] /naɪvz/ (Show IPA)

an instrument for cutting, consisting essentially of a thin, sharp-edged, metal blade fitted with a handle.

a knifelike weapon; dagger or short sword.

any blade for cutting, as in a tool or machine.

verb (used with object), knifed, knifing.

to apply a knife to; cut, stab, etc., with a knife.

to attempt to defeat or undermine in a secret or underhanded way.

verb (used without object), knifed, knifing.

to move or cleave through something with or as if with a knife:

The ship knifed through the heavy seas.

Idioms

under the knife, in surgery; undergoing a medical operation:

The patient was under the knife for four hours.

Origin

before 1100; Middle English knif, Old English cnīf; cognate with Dutch knijf, German Kneif, Old Norse knīfr

Related forms

knifelike, adjective

knifer, noun

Examples from the web for knife

And cutting with a plastic knife is almost impossible.
Cut off the head and draw out pinfeathers, using a small pointed knife.
Run a small knife around edges to loosen, then transfer to a cutting board using parchment.
Lift confection onto a cutting board using overhang and halve confection with a sharp knife.
Hammon, the students wrote, allowed the suicidal student to buy a knife from a souvenir shop.
He was found lying by the roadside, with his throat cut, and a knife not far from his body.
At first, a knife and an old shirt were enough to purchase a horse.
Cut the dough with a dough cutter or knife into desired thickness.
Lightly press topping onto dough and use a knife to cut a pattern into the topping, but not into the bread.
Spear the block on the end of a knife and hold it above the hole from the inside.

British Dictionary definitions for knife

knife

/naɪf/

noun (pl) knives (naɪvz)

a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp-edged often pointed blade of metal fitted into a handle or onto a machine

a similar instrument used as a weapon

have one's knife in someone, to have a grudge against or victimize someone

twist the knife, to make a bad situation worse in a deliberately malicious way

(Brit) the knives are out for someone, people are determined to harm or put a stop to someone: the knives are out for Stevens

under the knife, undergoing a surgical operation

verb (transitive)

to cut, stab, or kill with a knife

to betray, injure, or depose in an underhand way

Derived Forms

knifelike, adjective
knifer, noun

Word Origin

Old English cnīf; related to Old Norse knīfr, Middle Low German knīf

Word Origin and History for knife

late Old English cnif, probably from Old Norse knifr, from Proto-Germanic *knibaz (cf. Middle Low German knif, Middle Dutch cnijf, German kneif), of uncertain origin. To further confuse the etymology, there also are forms in -p-, e.g. Dutch knijp, German kneip. French canif "penknife" (mid-15c.) is borrowed from Middle English or Norse.

1865, from knife (n.). Related: Knifed; knifing.

knife in the Bible

(1.) Heb. hereb, "the waster," a sharp instrument for circumcision (Josh. 5:2, 3, lit. "knives of flint;" comp. Ex. 4:25); a razor (Ezek. 5:1); a graving tool (Ex. 20:25); an axe (Ezek. 26:9). (2.) Heb. maakeleth, a large knife for slaughtering and cutting up food (Gen. 22:6, 10; Prov. 30:14). (3.) Heb. sakkin, a knife for any purpose, a table knife (Prov. 23:2). (4.) Heb. mahalaph, a butcher's knife for slaughtering the victims offered in sacrifice (Ezra 1:9). (5.) Smaller knives (Heb. ta'ar, Jer. 36:26) were used for sharpening pens. The pruning-knives mentioned in Isa. 18:5 (Heb. mizmaroth) were probably curved knives.

Idioms and Phrases with knife

knife

see: