knife
/ˈnaɪ̯f/noun, verb
knife is spelled K-N-I-F-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,558th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, knife means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of knife is knives.
How many letters and syllables are in knife?
| Letters | 5: K-N-I-F-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 26 times per million words; the 3,558th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is knife?
Knife appears 26 times per million words in written English, the 3,558th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce knife?
- US /ˈnaɪ̯f/
- /ˈnɐɪ̯f/
- /ˈnɜɪ̯f/
Knife has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-a_knife.ogg, En-us-knife.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of knife
- knives plural
- knive
- knifes present, singular, he/she/it
- knifing participle, present
- knifed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does knife mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
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.
He was looking for a knife to chop some steak.
- 2
A weapon designed with the aforementioned specifications intended for slashing or stabbing but 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.
She was repeatedly knifed in the chest.
- 3
To cut through as if with a knife.
The boat knifed through the water.
- 4
To betray, especially in the context of a political slate.
- 5
To positively ignore, especially in order to denigrate; compare cut.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate knife?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of knife: KFS.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Knife in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | couteau , frapper d'un coup de couteau |
| German | Messer, Mässer , messern |
| Portuguese | faca , esfaquear , cortar com faca (uma) , cortar |
| Spanish | cuchillo , acuchillar , puñal, serranil |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does knife come from?
From Middle English knyf, knif, from late Old English cnīf, from Old Norse knífr or Proto-West Germanic *knīb, 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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).