know someone in the biblical sense

US/ˌnoʊ ˌsʌmwən ɪn ðə ˈbɪblɪkəl ˌsɛn(t)s/

know someone in the biblical sense verb: to have sex with someone.

Verb (1)

know someone in the biblical sense (third-person singular simple present knows someone in the biblical sense, present participle knowing someone in the biblical sense, simple past knew someone in the biblical sense, past participle known someone in the biblical sense)

(euphemistic, idiomatic) To have sex with someone.
- James may not have known women in the biblical sense; but had Adams read the novels with care, he would have been agreeably surprised by the keen insights on the feminine psyche displayed there.1969, Ronald M. Meldrum, “Three of Henry James's Dark Ladies”, in Research Studies, volume 37, page 54
- As for Modigliani he is not a painter I know so I don't know if he knew Bianca in the biblical sense or not.1980, William Wiser, Disappearances, →ISBN, page 90
Synonyms:

go in unto, know, lie with

Verb (2) capitalized: know someone in the Biblical sense

know someone in the Biblical sense (third-person singular simple present knows someone in the Biblical sense, present participle knowing someone in the Biblical sense, simple past knew someone in the Biblical sense, past participle known someone in the Biblical sense)

Alternative letter-case form of know someone in the biblical sense.
- A few days after yours truly met her and got to know her in the Biblical sense, so to speak—you follow me?1960 January, Camilo José Cela, “Samson García, Traveling Photographer”, in Angel Flores, editor, Spanish Stories/Cuentos Españoles: A Bantam Dual-Language Book (Bantam Foreign Language), New York...
- Don’t broaden your interest to include wanting to know her in the Biblical sense or she’s liable to blow your head off.1977, John Jakes, “Dorn’s Daughter”, in The Warriors (The Kent Chronicles; 6), Garden City, N.Y.: Nelson Doubleday, Inc., book 3 (The Fire Road), page 264

Synonyms of know someone in the biblical sense

Forms of know someone in the biblical sense

third-person singular present	knows someone in the biblical sense
present participle	knowing someone in the biblical sense
past	knew someone in the biblical sense
past participle	known someone in the biblical sense
alternative form	know someone in the Biblical sense
third-person singular present	knows someone in the Biblical sense
present participle	knowing someone in the Biblical sense
past	knew someone in the Biblical sense
past participle	known someone in the Biblical sense

Origin of know someone in the biblical sense

From the use of know in the Bible. Some Bible translations, such as the King James Version, translate the Hebrew word יָדַע (yādaʿ) as know even in sexual contexts, giving rise to lines like “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived.”

Words formed from know someone in the biblical sense

in the biblical sense

Questions about know someone in the biblical sense

What does know someone in the biblical sense mean?: Know someone in the biblical sense means to have sex with someone.
What part of speech is know someone in the biblical sense?: Know someone in the biblical sense is a verb.
How do you pronounce know someone in the biblical sense?: Know someone in the biblical sense is pronounced /ˌnoʊ ˌsʌmwən ɪn ðə ˈbɪblɪkəl ˌsɛn(t)s/ (US).
What is the past tense of know someone in the biblical sense?: The past tense of know someone in the biblical sense is knew someone in the biblical sense.

Words near know someone in the biblical sense in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: know someone in the biblical sense (page history and authors); know someone in the Biblical sense (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: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-know someone in the biblical sense.ogg.

Cite this entry: “know someone in the biblical sense.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/know_someone_in_the_biblical_sense. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.