knuckle

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Any of the joints between the bones of the fingers.

2. 2

   A mechanical joint.

3. 3

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

4. ›+ 12 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      The kneejoint of a quadruped, especially of a calf

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

      • With wearie knockles on thy brim she kneeled sadly downe
   2. 5

      A cut of meat of various kinds.

      • 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.
   3. 6

      The joint of a plant.

      • In the West Indies there are found, even in sandy deserts and very dry places, large canes, which at every joint or knuckle yield a good supply of fresh water
   4. 7

      A convex portion of a vessel's figure where a sudden change of shape occurs, as in a…

      A convex portion of a vessel's figure where a sudden change of shape occurs, as in a canal boat, where a nearly vertical side joins a nearly flat bottom.

   5. 8

      A contrivance, usually of brass or iron, and furnished with points, worn to protect the…

      A contrivance, usually of brass or iron, and furnished with points, worn to protect the hand, to add force to a blow, and to disfigure the person struck; a knuckle duster.

      • brass knuckles
   6. 9

      The rounded point where a flat changes to a slope on a piste.

   7. 10

      To apply pressure, or rub or massage with one's knuckles (noun sense 1).

      • He knuckled the sleep from his eyes.
   8. 11

      To strike or punch.

      • I could feel my big toe snap, but as he's gone down on his good knee and half swung round I knuckled him in the kidney as hard as I could hit. He's gone all the way down, so I dropped my 19 stone into the middle of his back.
      • Only then I knuckled him. He had to be taught a hard lesson.
   9. 12

      To bend the fingers.

   10. 13

       To touch one's forehead as a mark of respect.

   11. 14

       To yield.

   12. 15

       To land on the knuckle (noun sense 9) of a curve of a slope, after a jump off a ramp that…

       To land on the knuckle (noun sense 9) of a curve of a slope, after a jump off a ramp that precedes the slope.

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