Meaning & use
knocked up
Last updated
“knocked up” is a form of “knock up”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectiveafter a verbslangAmericanvulgar
Pregnant, usually unplanned, in a casual and sometimes crude way; considered impolite in many settings.
Grammar: Used after be or get: she got knocked up; not before a noun.
Patterns
- get knocked up
- be knocked up
In the film, she gets knocked up after one night and has to rethink her plans.
That slang term knocked up sounds rude in polite conversation.
He joked that his friend had accidentally gotten someone knocked up.
adjectiveafter a verbBritishold-fashioned
Extremely tired and worn out, mainly in older British use.
Grammar: Used after be or feel: I'm knocked up after that walk.
Patterns
- be knocked up
- feel knocked up
After the long hike, he felt completely knocked up.
The soldiers were knocked up by the end of the march.
I am knocked up and need a long nap.
verbphrasal verbBritishinformal
Past tense and past participle of knock up: to wake someone by knocking on the door, or to make something quickly.
Grammar: Takes an object: she knocked up a salad; he knocked me up at dawn.
Patterns
- knock someone up
- knock something up
She knocked up a quick supper from leftovers.
The milkman knocked us up before sunrise.
They knocked up a shelf from some spare boards.
Word forms
| third person singular | knocks up |
|---|---|
| past tense | knocked up |
| past participle | knocked up |
| -ing form | knocking up |
Common combinations
- get knocked up
- The character gets knocked up in the first scene of the comedy.
- knocked up a meal
- She knocked up a meal in ten minutes.
- feel knocked up
- I feel knocked up after the night shift.
- knocked up at dawn
- The neighbors knocked us up at dawn.
- knocked up a shelf
- He knocked up a shelf from spare wood.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pregnant
- Pregnant is the neutral, polite word, whereas knocked up is blunt slang that can offend.
- exhausted
- Exhausted is standard and works anywhere, while knocked up in this sense is dated British slang.
- whipped up
- Whipped up for food also means made quickly, but it sounds more cheerful and does not mean anything about pregnancy.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: knocked up or knocked out?
knocked up vs knocked out
Knocked out means made unconscious or eliminated from a competition, which is different from knocked up.
Practice
A British speaker says, 'I was so ___ after the marathon that I slept for twelve hours.' Which word best fits in the older British sense?
Choose one answer.
Knocked up in older British English means worn out. Knocked out usually means unconscious or beaten, and the other options do not mean tired.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “knocked up”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.