Word.ws English Dictionary

knap

/næp/

knap verb: to break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap. Also the obsolete spelling of nap.

knap: to break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break...
Image: Kufundisha, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb (1)

knap (third-person singular simple present knaps, present participle knapping, simple past and past participle knapped)

  1. (transitive) To break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap.
    • He hath made warres to ceaſſe in all the worlde: he hath broken the bowe, he hath knapped the ſpeare in ſonder, ⁊ brẽt [brent] the charettes in the fyre.1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Psalm xlv:[9]
    • O God of peace vvhich makeſt an end of vvarre in al the vvorld, and breakeſt the bovve, and knappeſt the ſpeares aſunder, and burneſt the chariots vvith fire; protect vs from vvarre and ſlaughter; ſcatter the nations that delight in vvarre.1586, Iohn Avenar [i.e., Johann Habermann], “A Praier for Peace”, in Thomas Rogers, transl., The Enimie of Securitie or A Daily Exercise of Godlie Meditations, […], London: […] Henrie Denham […]...
    1. (especially, specifically, transitive) To break away flakes from (a brittle material which fractures conchoidally (“with planar concentric curves”), usually a mineral such as chert, flint, or obsidian), often to form a tool with a sharp edge or point.
      • An average workman will knap 3,000 flints in a day of 12 hours, but a good one will make 4,000 at a pinch.1879, Sydney B. J. Skertchly, “Manufacture of Gun-flints”, in On the Manufacture of Gun-flints, the Methods of Excavating for Flint, the Age of Palæolithic Man, and the Connexion between Neolithic...
      • After every five or six shots, check the flint and tighten the jaws, if the flint has shifted. After twenty shots, flip the flint and dry fire the gun. This should knap the edge [of the flint].1996 November, Lionel Atwill, “The Flash of Flint on Steel”, in Duncan Barnes, editor, Field & Stream, east edition, volume CI, number 7, New York, N.Y.: Times Mirror Magazines, →ISSN, →OCLC, page...
  2. (transitive) To strike (something) sharply; to knock, to rap.
    • Take one Veſſel of Siluer, and another of VVood, and fill each of them full of VVater, and then knap the Tongs together, as before, about an handfull from the Bottome, and you ſhall finde the Sound much more Reſounding from the Veſſel of Siluer, than from that of VVood: […] ſuch a Communication...1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “VII. Century. [Experiments in Consort, Touching Production, Conseruation, and Delation of Sounds; and the Office of the Aire therein.]”, in Sylua Syluarum...
    • "That will be sixpence," he said without looking up. She knapped her lips together and turned on her heel without another word.1977, Marilynne K. Roach, Encounters with the Invisible World: Being Ten Tales of Ghosts, Witches, & the Devil Himself in New England, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Y[oung] Crowell Co., →ISBN, page 10
    Synonyms:
    knack
  3. (transitive) Followed by off: to break (something) away from another thing by striking or tapping sharply.
    • VVith his rod […] he knapt of the uppermoſt heads and tops of the poppies.1600, T[itus] Livius [i.e., Livy], “[Book LIV]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Romane Historie […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 38
    • Its [i.e., the foment is] prevalent in fixt Scorbutic Pains, for as much as it ſuſtains the Tone of the parts, layeth the vveary Spirits to reſt, knappeth off the ſharp points of the Salts, and forceth the acrid Ichor to evaporate either by inſenſible Effluvia or Svveat.1710, Thomas Fuller, “A Scorbutic Foment”, in Pharmacopœia Extemporanea: Or, A Body of Prescripts. […], London: […] Benj[amin] Walford,, […], →OCLC, page 170
  4. (figuratively, transitive) To say (something) crisply or sharply.
    • [T]he evil spirit of the year sixteen hundred and forty-twa is at wark again as merrily as ever, and ilka [every] auld wife in the chimley-neuck will be for knapping doctrine wi' doctors o' divinity and the godly fathers o' the church.1816, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter VII, in Tales of My Landlord, […], volume II (Old Mortality), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for William Blackwood, […]...
    • And there's Leddy Glendochart that is a real credit to the family, and has travelled, and can knap English with the best—far better than you.1890, [Margaret] Oliphant, chapter VIII, in Kirsteen: The Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago […], volume III, London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 142
  5. (intransitive) To break or fracture suddenly; to snap.
    • In ſtringinge of your bovv […] you muſt mark the fit length of youre bovve. […] Yf it [the string] be longe, the bendynge muſt nedes be in the ſmal of the ſtring, vvhich beynge ſore tvvined muſte nedes knap in ſunder to yͤ diſtruction of manye good bovves.1545, Roger Ascham, Toxophilus, the Schole of Shootinge […], London: […] Edouardi Whytchurch, →OCLC
  6. (intransitive) To make a cracking or snapping sound; to crack, to snap.
    • If the Thigh-bone be luxated invvard, and the Patient young and of a tender Conſtitution, it may be reduced by the Hand of the Chirurgeon: […] [H]e muſt ſuddenly force the Knee up tovvards the Belly, and preſs back the head of the Femur into its Acetabulum, and it vvill knap in.1676, Richard Wiseman, “An Appendix to the Treatise of Gun-shot Wounds. Chapter VIII. Of Luxation of the Hip.”, in Severall Chirurgicall Treatises, London: […] E. Flesher and J. Macock, for R[ichard]...
  7. (intransitive) To strike sharply.
  8. (figuratively, intransitive) To speak crisply or sharply.
  9. (figuratively, intransitive, obsolete) To cheat while gambling, especially at a dice game.

Noun (1)

knap (plural knaps)

  1. (dialectal, chiefly archaic or obsolete except UK) A sudden, sharp blow, knock, or slap; a rap, a whack.
  2. (dialectal, chiefly archaic or obsolete except UK) The sound made by such a blow, knock, or slap.
    • Foot Stomp […] The sole of the attacker's foot covers the victim's foot without actually touching it. The sounds of the attacker's heel striking the floor creates the knap. The victim adds vocal and physical pain reactions.1982, J. D. Martinez, “Kneeing, Kicking, and Stomping”, in Combat Mime: A Non-violent Approach to Stage Violence (A Burnham Publishers Book), Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, published...
    • Pulling the punch straight back to its initial starting position, sometimes referred to as "snapping it back," is the most effective way of selling the straight punch. It tells the audience the punch was thrown, they hear a knap, and the victim is 'injured.' […] The knap sound, like all punches, is...2012, Andrew Ashenden, “The Straight Punch”, in Basics of Stage Combat: Unarmed, Boca Raton, Fla.: Universal-Publishers, →ISBN, page 63
  3. (dialectal, chiefly archaic or obsolete except UK) Synonym of chattering damsel (“a component of a traditional mill which creates a vibratory motion to impel portions of grain toward the millstone; a clapper”).
  4. (figuratively, obsolete) A method of cheating at a dice game.
    • 'Tis your pence a piece, / […] / Preſto begon? or come aloft? VVhat vvay? / Doublets? or Knap? The Cog? lovv Dice? or high?a. 1659 (date written), John Cleveland, “The Publick Faith”, in The Works of Mr. John Cleveland, […], London: […] R. Holt, for Obadiah Blagrave, […], published 1687, →OCLC, page 200
    • And fights vvith Money-bags as bold, / As men vvith Sand-bags did of old: / […] Engages blind and ſenſeleſs Hap / 'Gainſt High, and Lovv, and Slur and Knap, […]a. 1681 (date written), Samuel Butler, “Satyr”, in R[obert] Thyer, editor, The Genuine Remains in Verse and Prose of Mr. Samuel Butler, […], volume I, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […]...

Noun (2)

knap (plural knaps)

  1. (UK, dialectal) A piece of raised ground or a short, steep slope; a small hill; a hillock, a knoll.
    • [Y]ou ſhall ſee many fine ſeats ſet upon a knap of ground, environed vvith higher hills round about it; […]1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Building”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC
    • Through the whole extent of the parish, a line of knaps can be distinctly traced. […] Almost every eminence seems to have had its knap. The use of these knaps cannot be mistaken. The uniform testimony of tradition, their local situation, and the quantity of ashes found in such of them as have been...1810 May 9 (date written), Milo [pseudonym], “Tour from Arbroath to Montrose”, in The Scots Magazine, and Edinburgh Literary Miscellany: […], volume LXXII, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and...
  2. (UK, dialectal) The crest or top of a hill.
    • the highest part and knap of the same Iland1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C....
    • Hearke on knap of yonder hill / Some ſvveet ſhepheard tunes his quill, / And the maidens in a round / Sit (to heare him) on the ground.1614, William Browne, “The Shepheard‘s Pipe. The First Eglogue.”, in [Thomas Davies], editor, The Works of William Browne, volume III, London: […] T[homas] Davies, […], published 1772, →OCLC, page 10

Verb (2)

knap (third-person singular simple present knaps, present participle knapping, simple past and past participle knapped)

  1. (UK, dialectal, transitive) To take a small, quick bite at or of (someone or something); to nibble, to nip, to snap.
    • I vvould ſhee vvere as lying goſſippe in that, as euer knapt Ginger, or made her neighbors beleeue ſhe vvept for the death of a third husband: […]c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […] J[ames] Roberts [for Thomas Heyes], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act...
    • [H]orses' playful neigh, / From rustic's whips, and plough, and waggon, free, / Baiting in careless freedom o'er the leas, / Or turn'd to knap each other at their ease.1821, John Clare, “[Poems.] Sunday Walks.”, in The Village Minstrel, and Other Poems, volume II, London: […] [T. Miller] for Taylor and Hessey, […]; and E[dward] Drury, […], →OCLC, pages 105–106
  2. (UK, dialectal, intransitive) To take a small, quick bite.
    • [In Thomas Elyot's book The Boke Named the Governour (1531)] vvere ſome ſharp and quick ſentences; vvhich many of the ſparks could not vvell bear. They complained of his ſtrange terms, as they called them. Theſe Elyot compared to a galled horſe abiding no plaiſters, that vvere alvvays knapping and...1721, John Strype, “The King’s Primer; for the Better Instruction of the Laity. Seditious Books Called in. Sir Tho. Eliot’s Letter to Crumwel on this Occasion. Some Account of this Learned Knight.”...

Also used as

knap is also the obsolete spelling of nap.

knap meaning in Vietnamese

knap in Vietnamese

to break away flakes from (a brittle material), often to form a tool with a sharp edge or point
ghè

Examples of knap in a sentence

  • [O]ne knapper, who was very skilled and, therefore, presumed to be an adult, made highly standardized prismatic blades.2021, April Nowell, “Stone Tools, Skill Acquisition and Learning a Craft”, in Growing Up in the Ice Age: Fossil and Archaeological Evidence...
  • Through the whole extent of the parish, a line of knaps can be distinctly traced. […] Almost every eminence seems to have had its knap.1810 May 9 (date written), Milo [pseudonym], “Tour from Arbroath to Montrose”, in The Scots Magazine, and Edinburgh Literary Miscellany...
  • […] Don Lucas […] thinkes in the darke morning to get the advantage of the hill-knap, and then to fall dovvne upon his enemie to be in his old Quarters.1633, [William Watts], “The Advancing of Another Spanish Armie into the Palatinate, after the King of Swedens Departure thence towards...
  • Theſe Elyot compared to a galled horſe abiding no plaiſters, that vvere alvvays knapping and kicking at ſuch examples and ſentences as they felt ſharp, or did bite them.1721, John Strype, “The King’s Primer; for the Better Instruction of the Laity. Seditious Books Called in. Sir Tho. Eliot’s Letter to...

Synonyms of knap

Forms of knap

Verb
third-person singular presentknaps
present participleknapping
past participleknapped
pastknapped
second-person singular present (archaic)knappest
second-person singular past (archaic)knappedst
third-person singular present (archaic)knappeth
Noun
pluralknaps

Origin of knap

The verb is derived from Late Middle English knappen (“to strike (something)”); further etymology uncertain, probably related to Middle Dutch knappen, cnappen (“to break (something) with a sharp sound, snap; to crack or crackle”) (modern Dutch knappen), probably ultimately onomatopoeic. The noun is derived from Late Middle English knap, knappe (“sharp blow, strike”); further etymology uncertain, possibly from the verb (see above), or related to an ancestor of Danish knep and Swedish knäpp (“a flick, rap, snap”), probably ultimately onomatopoeic.

From Middle English knap, knappe (“small projection, knob (button, tassel, tuft, etc.); hill; hilltop; etc.”), from Old English cnæp, cnæpp (“summit, top”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Old Norse knappr (“small projection, knob (button, head of a stick, etc.)”) (whence English knop), from Proto-Germanic *knappô, *knuppô.

Origin uncertain; possibly: * from Middle English *kneppen (compare Middle English knippette (“pincers for cracking nuts”)), from Old Norse kneppa (“to pinch, press, squeeze; to button, clasp; to hug”), from Proto-Germanic *knappijaną (“to clamp; to squeeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *gnebʰ- (“to constrict, tighten; to press”); * related to knap (etymology 1); or * imitative of a mouth snapping shut; compare gnap (“to snap at”) (obsolete except Scotland), nab (“to bite gently, nibble”) (obsolete except Southern and Western England).

Words formed from knap

Words that rhyme with knap

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about knap

What does knap mean?
Knap means to break (something) into small pieces with a cracking sound; to fragment, to smash; also, to break (something) apart sharply; to snap.
What is knap in Vietnamese?
Knap in Vietnamese is ghè. See Knap meaning in Vietnamese.
How do you use knap in a sentence?
[O]ne knapper, who was very skilled and, therefore, presumed to be an adult, made highly standardized prismatic blades.
What part of speech is knap?
Knap can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce knap?
Knap is pronounced /næp/ (UK).
What is the past tense of knap?
The past tense of knap is knapped.

Words near knap in the dictionary

  1. knaidels
  2. knaidl
  3. knaidlach
  4. knaidloch
  5. knaidls
  6. knap
  7. knap it
  8. knapbasket
  9. knapbottle
  10. Knapdale
  11. knape

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: knap (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-knap.wav.

Cite this entry: “knap.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/knap. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.