knuckle

CEFRB2

/ˈnʌkəl/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A finger joint, especially the large joint where a finger meets the hand.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A mechanical joint.

Examples

  • As incredible as it may seem, she ordered a knuckle of ham with sauerkraut.

  • It is easy to knuckle down if you have enough motivation.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The curved part of the cushion at the entrance to the pockets on a cue sports table.

  2. Any of the joints between the bones of the fingers.

  3. The kneejoint of a quadruped, especially of a calf; formerly, the kneejoint of a human being.

More examples

In context

  • You'd better knuckle down to work.

  • He knuckled the sleep from his eyes.

  • Beef knuckle is from the knee joint. Pork knuckle, or ham hock, is from the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the leg.

Synonyms

Quick test

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Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English knokel (“finger joint”), from Old English cnucel (“the juncture of two bones; knuckle; joint”), from Proto-West Germanic *knukil, from Proto-Germanic *knukilaz (“knuckle, knot, bump”), as *knukô (“bone, joint”) + *-ilaz (diminutive suffix). Cognate with Dutch knokkel (“knuckle”), Low German Knökel (“knuckle”), German Knöchel (“ankle, knuckle”), Old Norse knykill. More at knock.