knock
/nɑk/noun, verb
knock is spelled K-N-O-C-K: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 3,939th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “knock vs nock” about 30 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, knock means “An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of knock is knocks.
How many letters and syllables are in knock?
| Letters | 5: K-N-O-C-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 22 times per million words; the 3,939th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is knock?
Knock appears 22 times per million words in written English, the 3,939th 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 knock?
- UK /nɒk/
- US /nɑk/
Knock has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-knock.ogg, En-au-knock.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with knock
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: nock (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with knock?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as knock from its last stressed vowel (/ɑk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of knock
- knocks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- knocking participle, present
- knocked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does knock mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An abrupt rapping sound, as from an impact of a hard object against wood.
- 2
A sharp impact.
He took a knock on the head.
- 3
informalA criticism.
- 4
informalA blow or setback.
- 5
Preignition, a type of abnormal combustion occurring in spark ignition engines caused by self-ignition; also, the characteristic knocking sound associated with it.
- 6
slangA batsman's innings.
He had a good knock and scored well.
- 7
A ball hit into play, especially one that becomes a hit.
He played a slow but sure knock of 35.
- 8
Synonym of hunger knock.
verb
- 1
To rap one's knuckles against something, especially wood.
Knock on the door and find out if they’re home.
- 2
datedTo strike for admittance; to rap upon, as a door.
- 3
colloquialTo criticize verbally; to denigrate; to undervalue.
Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
- 4
To kick a ball towards another player; to pass.
- 5
To hit a ball into play.
- 6
UKdatedslangTo impress forcibly or strongly; to astonish; to move to admiration or applause.
- 7
datedTo bump or impact.
I knocked against the table and bruised my leg.
- 8
slangTo have sex with.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Knock in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | coup , frapper |
| German | Klopfen , klopfen , Schlag , schlagen |
| Portuguese | batida , bater |
| Spanish | golpe, toc , llamar a, golpear, tocar a, tañer |
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.