knock over

verb

"knock-over" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

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

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To bump or strike something in such a way as to tip it.

Corpus desk

Index EN-knock-over · knock over · English

knock over · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 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 over
PropertyValue
Headwordknock over
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “knock over” in English

knock oversits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

knock over is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for knock over in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

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 over, spelled K-N-O-C-K- -O-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To bump or strike something in such a way as to tip it.
  2. 2
    To beat up, murder or kill.
  3. 3
    To finish eating or drinking (something).
  4. 4
    To arrest (someone).
  5. 5
    To rob; to stage a heist of.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. I knocked over a can of paint and spent the next hour cleaning up.
  2. The bandits knocked over another bank, making three this week.

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 over"?
"knock over" is spelled K-N-O-C-K- -O-V-E-R.
What does "knock over" mean?
As a verb, "knock over" means: To bump or strike something in such a way as to tip it.
What language does "knock over" come from?
"knock over" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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