Word.ws English Dictionary

knocked for a loop

knocked for a loop is the simple past and past participle of knock for a loop.

Meaning of knock for a loop

Verb

knock for a loop (third-person singular simple present knocks for a loop, present participle knocking for a loop, simple past and past participle knocked for a loop)

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To astonish; to stagger or overwhelm; to confuse or disorient.
    • [Denham answered] "Gas bombs, Old Man! My own prescription. […] Gas bombs powerful enough to knock a row of elephants for a loop."1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 7

Questions about knocked for a loop

What is knocked for a loop the simple past and past participle of?
Knocked for a loop is the simple past and past participle of knock for a loop.

Words near knocked for a loop in the dictionary

  1. knocked dead
  2. knocked down
  3. knocked down a notch
  4. knocked down a peg
  5. knocked down to size
  6. knocked for a loop
  7. knocked in
  8. knocked into
  9. knocked into a cocked hat
  10. knocked into shape
  11. knocked it off

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: knocked for a loop (page history and authors); knock for a loop (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.

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Cite this entry: “knocked for a loop.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/knocked_for_a_loop. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.