knockoff

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

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

The verdict

“knockoff” is uncommon English (frequency #53,650 among 1,236 “K” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#53,650
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An imitation of something, particularly a well-known product, usually of lower quality and price than the original.

Corpus desk

Index EN-knockoff · knockoff · English

knockoff · rank #53,650 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #53,650
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH kha

Nearest frequency peer: kha (-4 rank slots)

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.

Long-tail ranks near “knockoff”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “knockoff” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for knockoff
PropertyValue
Headwordknockoff
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters8
Frequency rank#53,650
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “knockoff” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).knockofffalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “kha” (#53,646), “Lefebvre” (#53,655), “kendo” (#53,644). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “knockoff” is #53,650. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

knockoff is uncommon English at frequency #53,650 among 1,236 “K” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for knockoff in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Deverbal from knock off. The correct English form is knockoff, spelled K-N-O-C-K-O-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    An imitation of something, particularly a well-known product, usually of lower quality and price than the original.
  2. 2
    A device in a knitting machine to remove loops from the needles.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It's not a name-brand bag; it's just a cheap knockoff.
  2. He tried to sell us some knockoff watches.

Etymology

Deverbal from knock off.

This word in other languages

imitación(Español)faux(Français)Imitat(Deutsch)imitação(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "knockoff"?
"knockoff" is spelled K-N-O-C-K-O-F-F.
What does "knockoff" mean?
As a noun, "knockoff" means: An imitation of something, particularly a well-known product, usually of lower quality and price than the original.
What is the origin of the word "knockoff"?
Deverbal from knock off. See the full etymology section above for more details.
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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "knockoff", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Lefebvre#53,655Katowice#53,642machismo#53,675innately#53,621

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list