Word.ws English Dictionary

known known

known known noun: certainties of known magnitude, consequence, structure, and probability characteristics; something that we know that we know.

Noun

known known (plural known knowns)

  1. Certainties of known magnitude, consequence, structure, and probability characteristics; something that we know that we know.

Forms of known known

pluralknown knowns

Origin of known known

Popularized by Donald Rumsfeld in 2002, though used much earlier.

Questions about known known

What does known known mean?
Known known means certainties of known magnitude, consequence, structure, and probability characteristics; something that we know that we know.
What part of speech is known known?
Known known is a noun.
What is the plural of known known?
The plural of known known is known knowns.

Words near known known in the dictionary

  1. known how many beans make five
  2. known how to pick 'em
  3. known how to walk before one could run
  4. known if one was Arthur or Martha
  5. known inside and out
  6. known known
  7. known knowns
  8. known like the back of one's hand
  9. known no bounds
  10. known of
  11. known on what side one's bread is buttered

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: known known (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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