knowledge
Syllables: know·ledgeUK/ˈnɒl.ɪdʒ//ˈnɑ.lɪdʒ/
knowledge noun: the fact of knowing about something; general understanding or familiarity with a subject, place, situation etc.
Noun
knowledge (usually uncountable, plural knowledges)
- The fact of knowing about something; general understanding or familiarity with a subject, place, situation etc.
- His knowledge of Iceland was limited to what he'd seen on the Travel Channel.
- He has a lot of knowledge on the Indus Valley Civilization.
- Awareness of a particular fact or situation; a state of having been informed or made aware of something.
- He had always intended to visit him, though to the last always assuring his wife that he should not go; and till the evening after the visit was paid she had no knowledge of it.1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC
- Intellectual understanding; the state of appreciating truth or information.
- Knowledge consists in recognizing the difference between good and bad decisions.
- Our ſoules, whoſe faculties can comprehend
The wondrous Architecture of the world:
And meaſure euery wandring planets courſe,
Still climing after knowledge infinite, […]c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- Familiarity or understanding of a particular skill, branch of learning etc.
- Does your friend have any knowledge of hieroglyphs, perchance?
- A secretary should have a good knowledge of shorthand.
- Justified true belief
- Sexual intimacy or intercourse (now usually in phrase carnal knowledge).
- Every time that he had knowledge of her he would leave, either in the bed, or in her cushion-cloth, or by her looking-glass, or in some place where she must needs find it, a piece of money[…].1573, George Gascoigne, An Anthology of Elizabethan Prose Fiction, The Adventures of Master F.J.
- Information or intelligence about something; notice.
- Item, if any ship be in danger[…], every man to bear towards her, answering her with one light for a short time, and so to put it out again; thereby to give knowledge that they have seen her token.1580, Edward Hayes, “Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Voyage to Newfoundland”, in Charles W Eliot, editor, Voyages and Travels Ancient and Modern, Cosimo, published 2005, page 280
- The total of what is known; all information and products of learning.
- His library contained the accumulated knowledge of the Greeks and Romans.
- Something that can be known; a branch of learning; a piece of information; a science.
- he weakened his braines much, as all men doe, who over nicely and greedily will search out those knowledges [translating cognoissances], which hang not for their mowing, nor pertaine unto them.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC
- There is a great difference in the delivery of the mathematics, which are the most abstracted of knowledges.1605, Francis Bacon, “The Second Booke”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for...
- Acknowledgement.
- Notice, awareness.
- Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, :[10]
- The deep familiarity with certain routes and places of interest required by taxicab drivers working in London, England.
- There is only one sure way to memorise the runs and that is to follow them, either on foot, cycle or motor cycle; hence, the familiar sight of would-be cabbies learning the knowledge during evenings and weekends.2002, Malcolm Bobbitt, Taxi! - The Story of the London Cab
Verb
knowledge (third-person singular simple present knowledges, present participle knowledging, simple past and past participle knowledged)
- To confess as true; to acknowledge.
- Then went oute to hym Jerusalem, and all Jury, and all the region rounde aboute Jordan, and were baptised of hym in Jordan, knoledging their synnes.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew iij
- 5. The church of Christ knoweth no head, but Christ Jesu alone.
The synagogue of Satan knowledgeth the Romish bishop to be head of the universal church of Christ throughout the world.1653 October 6, Thomas Becon, “A Comfortable Epistle to the Afflicted People of God”, in Prayers and Other Pieces of Thomas Becon (Theology), Cambridge University Press, published 1844, →OCLC, page...
Proper noun capitalized: Knowledge
the Knowledge
- A course of study which must be completed by prospective London taxi drivers; consists of 320 routes through central London and many significant places.
- The drivers of the officially licensed "black cabs" are famous for their mastery of "The Knowledge" of London streets.2004, Robert S. Wayne, Royal London in Context: The Independent Traveler's Guide to Royal London, page 177
knowledge meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
knowledge in Hindi
- fact of knowing about something; understanding, familiarity with information
- जान jān, ज्ञान jñān, बुद्धि buddhi, इल्म ilm
- awareness, state of having been informed
- जागरूकता jāgrūktā
knowledge in Tamil
- fact of knowing about something; understanding, familiarity with information
- அறிவு aṟivu, ஞானம் ñāṉam
- awareness, state of having been informed
- விழிப்பு viḻippu, கவனம் kavaṉam
- familiarity with particular skill, discipline
- அனுபவம் aṉupavam
knowledge in Marathi
- knowledge
- ज्ञान dnyān
knowledge in Urdu
- fact of knowing about something; understanding, familiarity with information
- عِلْم 'ilm, شَناخْت śanāxt, گِیان giyān, گْیان gyān
More languagesFewer languages
- knowledge in Bengali
- জ্ঞান gên, এলেম elem
- knowledge in Telugu
- జ్ఞానము jñānamu, బోధ bōdha, జాగరూకత jāgarūkata, నైపుణ్యము naipuṇyamu
- knowledge in Malayalam
- ആവിത്ത് āvittŭ, വിജ്ഞാനം vijñānaṁ, വിദ്യ vidya, ജ്ഞാനം jñānaṁ
- knowledge in Kannada
- ಜ್ಞಾನ jñāna, ಅರಿವು arivu, ವಿಜ್ಞಾನ vijñāna
- knowledge in Punjabi
- جان jāṇ, گیان geyān, ਗਿਆਨ giāna, ਜਾਣ jāṇ
- knowledge in Gujarati
- જ્ઞાન jñān, બુદ્ધિ buddhi
- knowledge in Odia
- ଜ୍ଞାନ jñāna
- knowledge in Sanskrit
- ज्ञान jñāna, बुद्धि buddhi, विद्या vidyā, बोध bodha
- knowledge in Assamese
- জ্ঞান gyan
- knowledge in Nepali
- ज्ञान gyān
- knowledge in Pashto
- دانش dâniš, پوهه póha
- knowledge in Tagalog
- karunungan
- knowledge in Arabic
- عِلْم ʕilm, مَعْرِفَة maʕrifa
- knowledge in Malay
- pengetahuan, ilmu
- knowledge in Indonesian
- pengetahuan
- knowledge in Thai
- ความรู้ kwaam-rúu, วิชา wí-chaa, วิทยา wít-tá-yaa
- knowledge in Vietnamese
- tri thức, kiến thức
- knowledge in Myanmar
- အသိပညာ a.si.pa.nya, ဝိဇ္ဇာ wijja
- Kashmiri
- زان zān
Examples of knowledge in a sentence
- Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work.2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
- These debates inform this attempt at worlding women—moving beyond white western power centres and their dominant knowledges[…].1996, Jan Pettman, Worlding Women: A Feminist International Politics (Hardcover), Routledge, →ISBN, pages ix and x:
Synonyms of knowledge
Antonyms
Forms of knowledge
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | knowledges |
| alternative form | knolege |
| alternative form | knowlage |
| alternative form | knowleche |
| alternative form | knowledg |
| alternative form | knowlege |
| alternative form | knowliche |
| alternative form | knowlych |
| alternative form | knowlech |
| alternative form | knaulege |
| alternative form | knaulage |
| alternative form | knawlage |
| alternative form | knoleche |
| alternative form | knoleige |
| alternative form | knowlache |
| alternative form | knolych |
| alternative form | knawlache |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | knowledges |
| present participle | knowledging |
| past participle | knowledged |
Origin of knowledge
From Middle English knowleche, knaweleche, cnawlece (“knowledge”), from knowen (“to know, recognise”) + -leche. Related to Middle English knowlechen (“to find out, acknowledge”). For more on the Middle English suffix -leche, compare freelage. Compare also Old English cnāwelǣċ, cnāwelǣċing (“acknowledging, acknowledgement”).
Words formed from knowledge
- acknowledge
- afterknowledge
- a little knowledge is a dangerous thing
- antiknowledge
- anti-knowledge
- ball knowledge
- beknowledge
- book-knowledge
- content knowledge
- counterknowledge
- elite ball knowledge
- ethnoknowledge
- foreknowledge
- gendered knowledge
- interknowledge
- knowledgable
- knowledgeable
- knowledge base
- knowledge-box
- knowledge domain
- knowledge engineer
- knowledge engineering
- knowledgeful
- knowledge graph
- knowledge is power
- knowledgeless
- knowledgelike
- knowledge management
- knowledge map
- knowledgement
- knowledge mining
- knowledge society
- knowledge work
- knowledge worker
- meta-knowledge
- metaknowledge
- misknowledge
- naughty knowledge
- Nelsonian knowledge
- nonknowledge
- personal knowledge base
- personal knowledge management
- preknowledge
- principle of least knowledge
- protoknowledge
- red flag knowledge
- safe in the knowledge
- self-knowledge
- sphere of knowledge
- superknowledge
- theory of knowledge
- to my knowledge
- to one's knowledge
- to the best of one's knowledge
- tree of knowledge
- unknowledge
- zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse
- zero-knowledge
- zero-knowledge proof
Phrases with knowledge
- book knowledge
- knowledge maps
- knowledge bases
- prior knowledge
- stock knowledge
- carnal knowledge
- common knowledge
- knowledge graphs
- public knowledge
- general knowledge
- knowledge workers
- reading knowledge
5 more phrasesFewer phrases
Words that rhyme with knowledge
Questions about knowledge
- What does knowledge mean?
- Knowledge means the fact of knowing about something; general understanding or familiarity with a subject, place, situation etc.
- What is knowledge in Hindi?
- Knowledge in Hindi is जान (jān), ज्ञान (jñān), बुद्धि (buddhi). See Knowledge meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use knowledge in a sentence?
- Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work.
- What part of speech is knowledge?
- Knowledge can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce knowledge?
- Knowledge is pronounced /ˈnɒl.ɪdʒ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of knowledge?
- The plural of knowledge is knowledges.
Words near knowledge in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: knowledge (page history and authors); Knowledge (page history and authors); ज्ञान (Marathi) (page history and authors); അറിവ് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ಅರಿವು (Kannada) (page history and authors); جان (Punjabi) (page history and authors); જ્ઞાન (Gujarati) (page history and authors); دانش (Pashto) (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-knowledge.ogg.
Cite this entry: “knowledge.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/knowledge. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.