Meaning & use
a knob
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A round handle or dial on a machine or door that you turn or push.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a knob, the knob, or two knobs.
Patterns
- turn a knob
- a door knob
- press the knob
Turn the knob on the left to make the radio louder.
The door knob was loose, so it wobbled whenever we opened the door.
She pressed the knob and the machine started with a low hum.
nouncountable
A small rounded lump or piece of something, such as butter.
Grammar: Countable and often used with of: a knob of butter.
Patterns
- a knob of butter
- a knob of cheese
Melt a knob of butter in the pan before adding the eggs.
He dropped a small knob of cheese into the soup.
nouncountableinformaloffensivedisapproving
A stupid or unpleasant person, used as an insult.
Grammar: Countable but almost always singular and used with a/an in this insulting sense.
Patterns
- call someone a knob
- act like a knob
Some people on the forum called him a knob for asking the same question again.
He admitted he had acted like a knob and apologized to the group.
Word forms
| plural | knobs |
|---|
Common combinations
- turn a knob
- Turn the knob clockwise to raise the temperature.
- a door knob
- The door knob came off in my hand.
- a knob of butter
- Add a knob of butter and stir until it melts.
- adjust the knob
- You can adjust the knob to change the volume.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- knobbed adjective
- Having knobs or rounded lumps, as in a knobbed stick.
- knobby adjective
- Covered with small hard lumps, as in knobby knees.
Commonly confused: a knob or knot? a knob or nob?
a knob vs knot
A knot is a tied loop or a hard lump in wood or rope, while a knob is a rounded handle or lump.
a knob vs nob
Nob is a very informal British word for a rich or upper-class person, spelled without the k.
Practice
Which sentence uses the main object meaning of knob correctly?
Choose one answer.
A knob is a round handle or dial you turn, so turn the knob to open the door fits. Option 2 uses knob of with a liquid, which does not work, and option 3 wrongly uses knob as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a knob”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.