knock out
knock out
Variation
- knockout
- knocked out
Meaning | Synonyms
- big success
- to be rendered unconscious by a physical blow
- to eliminate the competition
- to become exhausted by an outside influence
- to be overwhelmed
- a very attractive person
- to make a big effort
- stunning blow or finishing blow
- elimination match
Example Sentences
- Does your brother really think that he can knock out the biggest guy in school? I would like to see him try.
- Liverpool knocked Chelsea out of the running by beating them in last night’s match.
- The new medication that the doctor gave me for the flu really knocks me out.
- The farewell party that my colleagues organized for me really knocked me out. I was not expecting it.
- Cindy’s new boyfriend is a real knockout.
- I knocked myself out trying to make sure that this presentation is the best that you have ever seen.
- America knocked out Russia in the competition of reaching to the moon first.
- Do you have any plan to knock out your competitors?
- The latest mobile phone by Samsung could be a knockout punch for Apple iPhone.
- A knock out punch is a solid action or hit that causes to defeat the rivals.
Origin
This phrase can be used in a lot of different contexts. Essentially, they all lead back to the original though. The phrase has been used since the 1880s. Initially it was only used to describe a physical knockout from a fight.
It has been used to describe “an excellent thing or person” since the 1890s. This meaning probably evolved to describe someone who is very attractive. It has been used in this sense since the 1950s.
Meaning “a great effort” has only been used since the 1930s.
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