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knuckle

Syllabification: (knuck·le)
Pronunciation: /ˈnəkəl/
Translate knuckle | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of knuckle

noun

  • a part of a finger at a joint where the bone is near the surface, especially where the finger joins the hand:Charlotte rapped on the window with her knuckles
  • a projection of the carpal or tarsal joint of a quadruped.
  • a cut of meat consisting of an animal’s knuckle together with the adjoining parts:a knuckle of pork

verb

[with object]
  • rub or press (something, especially the eyes) with the knuckles.

Phrasal Verbs

knuckle down

  • 1apply oneself seriously to a task.
  • 2 (also knuckle under) give in; submit.

Derivatives

knuckly

adjective

Origin:

Middle English knokel (originally denoting the rounded shape when a joint such as the elbow or knee is bent), from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch knökel, diminutive of knoke 'bone'. In the mid 18th century the verb knuckle (down) expressed setting the knuckles down to shoot the taw in a game of marbles, hence the notion of applying oneself with concentration

knuckle in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of knuckle in the British & World English dictionary

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