<B>knack</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a special skill; the power to do something easily. <BR> <I>Ex. That clown has the knack of making very funny faces. Diligence and attention soon gave him the knack of it (Mark Twain).</I> (SYN) aptitude, facility. <DD><B> 2. </B>a trick or habit. <BR> <I>Ex. The lady ... has only, with a very brisk air, a knack of saying the commonest things (Richard Steele).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>an adroit or ingenious method of doing something; clever expedient; dodge. <BR> <I>Ex. a knack of the trade.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) a deceitful or crafty device; mean or underhand trick. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Obsolete.) a trinket; trifle; knickknack. </DL>
<A NAME="knack">
<B>knack</B> (2), noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a sharp sound such as is made in striking a stone with a hammer; a crack or snap. <DD><I>v.t. </I> (Dialect.) to strike together with a sharp, abrupt noise; gnash (the teeth) or snap (the fingers). <DD><I>v.i. </I> (Obsolete.) to deal sharp-sounding blows. </DL>
<A NAME="knacker">
<B>knacker, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a person who buys and slaughters useless horses and sells the hides, hoofs, and meat. <DD><B> 2. </B>a person who buys old houses, ships, and the like for their materials. </DL>
<B>knag, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B><B>=wart.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a hook or peg. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Dialect.) a rugged top of a rock or hill. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Obsolete.) one of the projecting points of a deer's antler. </DL>
<B>knap</B> (1), verb, <B>knapped,</B> <B>knapping,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to strike with a hard, short sound; knack; knock; rap. <DD><B> 2. </B>to break off; snap. <DD><B> 3. </B>to shape or chip with a hammer, as stone or flint. <BR> <I>Ex. An abundance of flint artifacts, mostly scrapers and microlithic blades, were undoubtedly knapped in the tradition of Maglemose (New Scientist).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to bite in a short or abrupt way; snap; nibble. <DD><I>noun </I> an abrupt stroke or blow; smart knock. noun <B>knapper.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="knap">
<B>knap</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Dialect.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a hill or hillock. <DD><B> 2. </B>the top of a hill. </DL>
<A NAME="knappinghammer">
<B>knapping hammer,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a hammer for breaking and shaping flints and stones. </DL>
<A NAME="knapsack">
<B>knapsack, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a leather or canvas bag for clothes, equipment, or food, carried on the back; rucksack. <BR> <I>Ex. He had walked all over France and Italy with a painter's knapsack on his back (Henry James).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="knapweed">
<B>knapweed, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of various composite, perennial plants, especially a common weed with a hard, tough stem and light-purple flowers. Various kinds are called knotweed. </DL>
<A NAME="knar">
<B>knar, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a knot in wood. </DL>
<A NAME="knarl">
<B>knarl, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Dialect.) a knot on a tree or in wood; gnarl; knurl. </DL>
<A NAME="knave">
<B>knave, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a tricky or dishonest man; rascal; rogue. <BR> <I>Ex. The honest dealer is always undone, and the knave gets the advantage (Jonathan Swift).</I> (SYN) scoundrel. <DD><B> 2. </B>the jack, a playing card with a picture of a servant or soldier on it. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Archaic.) <DD><B> a. </B>a boy or lad employed as a servant. <DD><B> b. </B>a male servant. <BR> <I>Ex. What nonsense would the fool they master prate, When thou, his knave, canst talk at such a rate! (John Dryden).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>(Archaic.) a man of humble birth or position. </DL>
<A NAME="knavery">
<B>knavery, </B>noun, pl. <B>-eries.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>behavior characteristic of a knave or rascal; trickery; dishonesty; roguery. <BR> <I>Ex. Why, this is flat knavery, to take upon you another man's name (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a tricky, dishonest act. <DD><B> 3. </B>(Obsolete.) the playing of tricks; roguishness. </DL>
<A NAME="knavish">
<B>knavish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> tricky; dishonest. <BR> <I>Ex. 'Tis a knavish piece of work (Shakespeare).</I> (SYN) rascally, villainous, fraudulent. adv. <B>knavishly.</B> noun <B>knavishness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="knead">
<B>knead, </B>transitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to work over or work up (moist flour or clay), usually with the hands, into dough or paste. <BR> <I>Ex. Machines have been invented to knead bread dough.</I> <DD><B> 2a. </B>to make or shape by kneading. <DD><B> b. </B>(Figurative.) to blend, join, or reduce to a common mass, as if by kneading. <DD><B> 3. </B>to press and squeeze with the hands; massage. <BR> <I>Ex. Kneading the muscles in a stiff shoulder will take away the stiffness.</I> adj. <B>kneadable.</B> noun <B>kneader.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="knee">
<B>knee, </B>noun, verb, <B>kneed,</B> <B>kneeing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the joint between the thigh and the lower leg. The knee is formed by the joining of the thighbone and shinbone. It is covered in front by the kneecap. <DD><B> 2. </B>any joint in an animal corresponding to the human knee or elbow, as in the hind leg of a horse, the front or hind leg of an elephant, or the tarsal joint of a bird. <DD><B> 3. </B>anything like a bent knee in shape or position, such as a joint or brace of wood, metal, or other material, with parts that meet at a right angle. <DD><B> 4. </B>the part of a garment covering the knee. <DD><B> 5. </B>a knob on the root of a tree, especially the bald cypress, which shows above the surface of water or wet soil. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to strike or touch with the knee. <DD><B> 2. </B>to kneel to, as in reverence. <DD><B> 3. </B>to make (one's way) on the knees. <BR> <I>Ex. Fall down and knee The way into his mercy (Shakespeare).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>bring to one's knees,</B> </I>to force to yield. <BR> <I>Ex. A very efficacious method of bringing a ... troublesome class of offenders to their knees (London Times).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>on</B> (or <B>upon</B>) <B>the knees of the gods,</B> </I>beyond human control. <BR> <I>Ex. Such things are yet upon the knees of the gods (London Daily News).</I> adj. <B>kneelike.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="kneeaction">
<B>knee action,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a method of suspending the front wheels of a motor vehicle, each with its own spring and spindle, so as to have independent vertical movement. </DL>
<A NAME="kneebend">
<B>kneebend, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an exercise in which a person alternately crouches on the toes and then rises to a standing position. </DL>
<A NAME="kneebreeches">
<B>knee breeches,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> breeches reaching to or just below the knees. </DL>
<A NAME="kneecap">
<B>kneecap, </B>noun, verb, <B>-capped,</B> <B>-capping.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>the flat movable bone at the front of the knee; patella; kneepan. <DD><B> 2. </B>a covering to protect the knee, such as an elastic or a knitted cap. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to shoot or drill through someone's kneecap as a form of punishment or terrorism. <BR> <I>Ex. A man ... mugs an old lady and gets kneecapped (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="kneed">
<B>kneed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> having a kneelike joint or bend, as a plant stem; geniculate. </DL>
<A NAME="kneed">
<B>-kneed,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) having a ______knee or knees. <BR> <I>Ex. Weak-kneed = having weak knees.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="kneedeep">
<B>knee-deep, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>so deep as to reach to the knees. <BR> <I>Ex. The snow lay knee-deep.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>sunk to the knees. <BR> <I>Ex. to wade knee-deep in slush, (Figurative.) knee-deep in debt or trouble.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="kneedrill">
<B>knee drill,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in the Salvation Army) a kneeling to order for prayers. </DL>
<A NAME="kneehigh">
<B>knee-high, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> so high as to reach the knees. </DL>
<A NAME="kneehole">
<B>kneehole, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hole or space between the lower drawers of a desk, to make room for the knees. </DL>
<A NAME="kneejerk">
<B>knee jerk,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a sudden, involuntary kick produced by striking the tendon below the kneecap. </DL>
<A NAME="kneejerk">
<B>knee-jerk, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> (Informal.) <B>1. </B>without thought; automatic. <BR> <I>Ex. knee-jerk responses.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>that reacts without much thought or in a predictable or automatic way. <BR> <I>Ex. "What you have here," he said, "is the opposite of the knee-jerk liberal--the knee-jerk conservative" (Time).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a person whose reactions are predictable or automatic, especially in politics. </DL>
<A NAME="kneel">
<B>kneel, </B>verb, <B>knelt</B> or <B>kneeled,</B> <B>kneeling,</B> noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to go down on one's knee or knees. <BR> <I>Ex. She knelt down to pull a weed from the flower bed. I kneeled down, and gave God thanks aloud for my recovery from my sickness (Daniel Defoe).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to remain in this position. <BR> <I>Ex. They knelt in prayer for half an hour.</I> <DD><I>noun </I> the act or position of kneeling. noun <B>kneeler.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="kneelingbus">
<B>kneeling bus,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a bus with a pneumatic suspension system to lower its body to curb level so that passengers do not have to climb a step. <BR> <I>Ex. Pledging that his own administration would be "sensitive to the special needs of the aging," Mr. Koch promised, among other things, ... the deployment of "kneeling" buses (Charles Kaiser).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="kneepad">
<B>kneepad, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a pad worn around the knee for protection. </DL>
<A NAME="kneepan">
<B>kneepan, </B>noun. <B>=kneecap.</B></DL>
<A NAME="kneepiece">
<B>kneepiece, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> armor worn on the knee. </DL>
<A NAME="kneeroom">
<B>kneeroom, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> enough room in front of a seat in a vehicle, to keep one's knees in a comfortable position. </DL>
<A NAME="kneespavin">
<B>knee spavin,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a chronic inflammation of the bones of the knee joint in horses. </DL>
<A NAME="kneesplint">
<B>knee splint,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a local bony enlargement near the knee joint of the forelimb in horses. </DL>
<A NAME="kneesprung">
<B>knee-sprung, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> with knees bent from the normal position. <BR> <I>Ex. a knee-sprung horse.</I> </DL>
