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

British Dictionary definitions for under the 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 under the knife

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.

under the 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 under the knife

under the knife

Undergoing surgery, as in He was awake the entire time he was under the knife. The phrase is often put as go under the knife meaning “be operated on,” as in When do you go under the knife? Knife standing for “surgery” was first recorded in 1880.

knife

see: