knife

Meaning

Noun

1. A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may be pointed for piercing.
2. A weapon designed with the aforementioned specifications intended for slashing and/or stabbing and too short to be called a sword. A dagger.
3. Any blade-like part in a tool or a machine designed for cutting, such as that of a chipper.

Verb

1. To cut with a knife.
2. To use a knife to injure or kill by stabbing, slashing, or otherwise using the sharp edge of the knife as a weapon.
3. To cut through as if with a knife.
4. To betray, especially in the context of a political slate.
5. To positively ignore, especially in order to denigrate; compare cut.

Concepts

knife

stab

dagger

sword

penknife

blade

pierce

dirk

machete

razor

cutter

tongue

pocket knife

table knife

pointed carver

thrust

chive

poniard

stiletto

cut

big knife

small knife

iron

folding

paring knife

shiv

scalpel

short sword

meter

razorfish

clasp-knife

ceremonial knife

jab

abruptly stab

sharp weapon

scimitar

small sword

handle of a sword

flick-knife

snicker

kitchen knife

contact blade

scissors

shears

tool

secant

slice

tangency

carryall

doctor knife

drawknife

drawshave

erasing knife

facer

palette knife

plate

rabbler

scraper

scraper foundry trowel

scraping

scraping cutter

scraping tool

skimmer blade

slicker

spreading knife

axe

arrow

sawtooth

blunt

bayonet

shaving

jut

ledge

ligule

projection

spur

sticker

sickle

cleave

gore

penetrate

pin

spear

wound

small

barlow

utility knife

cutting tool

chisel

cleaver

hogback

razor blade

razorblade

Daga

eating irons

bistoury

stone axe

pearl shell

serve

spoon

big

long

short

Pronounced as (IPA)

/naɪf/

Etymology

From Middle English knyf, knif, from late Old English cnīf, from Old Norse knífr, from Proto-Germanic *knībaz, from *knīpaną (“to pinch”), Proto-Indo-European *gneybʰ- (compare Lithuanian gnýbti, žnýbti (“to pinch”), gnaibis (“pinching”)). Displaced native Middle English sax (“knife”) from Old English seax; and Middle English coutel, qwetyll (“knife”) from Old French coutel.
The verb knife is attested since the mid 1800s; the variant knive is attested since 1733.

Sentences

He took his plate , grabbed a knife and fork and scowled at the savagery on television .