knob

views updated May 29 2018

knob / näb/ • n. a rounded lump or ball, esp. at the end or on the surface of something. ∎  a handle on a door or drawer shaped like a ball. ∎  a rounded button for adjusting or controlling a machine. ∎  a small lump of a substance: add a knob of butter or margarine. ∎  a prominent round hill. ∎ vulgar slang a penis.DERIVATIVES: knobbed adj.knob·by adj.knob·like / -ˌlīk/ adj.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

knob

views updated May 29 2018

knob small rounded lump or mass XIV; knoll; small lump of coal, etc. XVII; the head (see NOB1) XVIII. — MLG. knobbe knot, knob, bud; cf. Flem. knobbe(n) lump of bread, etc., Du. knobbel bump, knob, knot.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

knob

views updated May 17 2018

knob, knop. Finial or boss.

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture JAMES STEVENS CURL

Knob

views updated Jun 08 2018

Knob

a small collection of widgeons, dunbirds, teals, or the like; fewer than thirty, 1878.

Examples: knob of dunbirds, 1878; pochard; teal, 1878; widgeon, 1878.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms

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