Knock or nock?
knock is a noun meaning “An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood”; nock is a noun meaning “Either of the two grooves in a bow that hold the bowstring”. They sound the same (/nɒk/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) knock is about 107 times as common as nock.
What is the difference between knock and nock?
| knock | nock | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb, interjection |
| Meaning | An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood A sharp impact To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood | Either of the two grooves in a bow that hold the bowstring The notch at the rear of an arrow that fits on the bowstring To fit (an arrow) against the bowstring of a bow or crossbow |
| Example | He took a knock on the head | none recorded |
| Forms | knocks | nocks |
| Pronunciation | /nɒk/ /nɑk/ | /nɒk/ /nɑk/ |
| In writing | 22 times per million words | about once in every 5 million words |
Sources: knock and nock in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of knock and nock
knock
- 1
An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood
- 2
To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood
Knock on the door and find out if they’re home
- 3
A sharp impact
He took a knock on the head
- 4
datedTo strike for admittance; to rap upon, as a door
- 5
informalA criticism
- 6
colloquialTo criticize verbally; to denigrate; to undervalue
Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it
- 7
informalA blow or setback
- 8
To kick a ball towards another player; to pass
nock
- 1
Either of the two grooves in a bow that hold the bowstring
- 2
To fit (an arrow) against the bowstring of a bow or crossbow
- 3
Fit the arrow to your bowstring
- 4
The notch at the rear of an arrow that fits on the bowstring
- 5
To cut a nock in (usually in an arrow's base or the tips of a bow)
- 6
The upper fore corner of a boom sail or trysail
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, knock or nock?
knock appears 22 times per million words; nock about once in every 5 million words.
knock 22 times per million wordsnock about once in every 5 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search knock vs nock?
“knock vs nock” is searched about 30 times a month on Google and 10 on Bing in the United States. Google counts close variants of a query together (“nock vs knock”, “knock or nock”).
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.