knife
A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may be pointed for piercing.
Example
“He was looking for a knife to chop some steak.”
Other meanings
Any blade-like part in a tool or a machine designed for cutting, such as that of a chipper.
Related words
- before you can say knife
- bring a knife to a gunfight
- byknife
- catch a falling knife
- knife and fork
- knife arch
- knife-handle
- cut deeper than a knife
- cut like a knife
- cut with a knife and fork
- cyberknife
- did my back hurt your knife
Word history
From Old Norse "knífr".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “knife” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.