knuckles

Noun

knuckle (plural knuckles)

1. Any of the joints between the bones of the fingers.
2. (broadly) A mechanical joint.
3. The curved part of the cushion at the entrance to the pockets on a cue sports table.
4. The kneejoint of a quadruped, especially of a calf; formerly, the kneejoint of a human being.
   • With wearie knockles on thy brim she kneeled sadly downe1567, Ovid, “(please specify the book number or chapter)”, in Arthur Golding, transl., The XV. Bookes of P. Ouidius Naso, Entytuled Metamorphosis, […], London: […] Willyam Seres […], →OCLC
5. A cut of meat of various kinds.
   • Beef knuckle is from the knee joint. Pork knuckle, or ham hock, is from the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot of a pig, where the foot was attached to the leg.
6. (obsolete) The joint of a plant.
   • In the West Indies there are found, even in sandy deserts and very dry places, large canes, which at every joint or knuckle yield a good supply of fresh water1623, Francis Bacon, The History of Dense and Rare

See all 15 meanings of knuckle