knock out

verb

"knock-out" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“knock out” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To strike or render unconscious

Corpus desk

Index EN-knock-out · knock out · English

knock out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "K" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for knock out
PropertyValue
Headwordknock out
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “knock out” in English

knock outfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

knock out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 15 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for knock out in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is knock out, spelled K-N-O-C-K- -O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To strike or render unconscious
  2. 2
    To strike or render unconscious
  3. 3
    To strike or render unconscious
  4. 4
    To strike or render unconscious
  5. 5
    To strike or render unconscious
  6. 6
    To strike or render unconscious
  7. 7
    To strike or render unconscious
  8. 8
    To strike or render unconscious
  9. 9
    To strike or render unconscious
  10. 10
    To communicate (a message) by knocking.
  11. 11
    To complete, especially in haste; knock off.
  12. 12
    To lose the scent of hounds in fox-hunting.
  13. 13
    To leave college after hours—after half-past ten at night when the doors have been locked.
  14. 14
    To obtain or earn (something, often money or food).
  15. 15
    To sell.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how knock out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I accidentally knocked out the glass in my picture frame.
  2. The boxer knocked out his opponent in the third round.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "knock out"?
"knock out" is spelled K-N-O-C-K- -O-U-T.
What does "knock out" mean?
As a verb, "knock out" means: To strike or render unconscious
What language does "knock out" come from?
"knock out" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list