knob

CEFRB2

/nɒb/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A rounded handle used to open, close, or control something.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A ball-shaped part of a handle, lever, etc., designed to be grabbed by the hand.

Examples

  • Turn the knob and open the door.

  • Twist that knob to the right and the box will open.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A rounded control switch that can be turned on its axis, designed to be operated by the fingers.

  2. A rounded protuberance, especially one arising from a flat surface; a fleshy lump or caruncle.

  3. A rounded ornament on the hilt of an edged weapon; a pommel.

More examples

In context

  • We climbed to the top of Slate Hill, the highest knob in our town, and Ricky gave me a whole talk on how slate formed, how it was and was not shale.

  • Arthur slammed his fist down on the table so hard, the cup jumped, spilling coffee. The rotten bastard means to have the guvnor’s guts. That fucking knob has never been on a live deployment in his entire life.[…]

  • Place whole, unpeeled knobs of ginger in a zipper-lock freezer bag for up to 3 months. Slice or break off what you need and return the rest to the freezer.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

She turned the door blank to open the room and walked inside slowly.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English knobbe, from Middle Low German knobbe (“knob, knot in wood, bud”), probably ultimately from a variant of Proto-Germanic *knappô (“knob, lump”), one of several kn- words related to *knudaną (“to knead”). Compare Middle Dutch knobbe, cnoppe, Middle Low German knobbe (“knob, knot in wood”), knubbe, Dutch knop (“knob, button, bud”), Old Frisian knopp, knapp, Old High German knopf (“bud, pommel of a sword, knot, loop”), Middle High German knospe, German Knopf (“button, knob”), Knospe (“bud”), Danish knap (“button”), knop (“knob, button, bud”), Faroese knappur (“button”), Icelandic hnappur (“button”), Norn knapp (“round button”), knubbi (“potato”), snapp (“knob, round top”), N...