know someone in the biblical sense

verb

"know-someone-in-the-biblical-sense" is a 29-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“know someone in the biblical sense” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
34
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To have sex with someone.

Corpus desk

Index EN-know-someone-in-the-bibl · know someone in the biblical sense · English

know someone in the biblical sense · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 34 letters
  • VOW-12 12 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 know someone in the biblical sense
PropertyValue
Headwordknow someone in the biblical sense
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters34
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “know someone in the biblical sense” in English

know someone in the biblical sensesits 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

know someone in the biblical sense is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To have sex with someone.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for know someone in the biblical sense, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the use of know in the Bible. Some Bible translations, such as the King James Version, translate the Hebrew word יָדַע (yādaʿ) as know even in sexual contexts, giving rise to lines like “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived.” The correct English form is know someone in the biblical sense, spelled K-N-O-W- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E- -I-N- -T-H-E- -B-I-B-L-I-C-A-L- -S-E-N-S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To have sex with someone.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. James may not have known women in the biblical sense; but had Adams read the novels with care, he would have been agreeably surprised by the keen insights on the feminine psyche displayed there.
  2. As for Modigliani he is not a painter I know so I don't know if he knew Bianca in the biblical sense or not.

Etymology

From the use of know in the Bible. Some Bible translations, such as the King James Version, translate the Hebrew word יָדַע (yādaʿ) as know even in sexual contexts, giving rise to lines like “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived.”

Synonyms

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 "know someone in the biblical sense"?
"know someone in the biblical sense" is spelled K-N-O-W- -S-O-M-E-O-N-E- -I-N- -T-H-E- -B-I-B-L-I-C-A-L- -S-E-N-S-E.
What does "know someone in the biblical sense" mean?
As a verb, "know someone in the biblical sense" means: To have sex with someone.
What is the origin of the word "know someone in the biblical sense"?
From the use of know in the Bible. Some Bible translations, such as the King James Version, translate the Hebrew word יָדַע (yādaʿ) as know even in sexual contexts, giving rise to lines like “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived.” See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
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Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list