Meaning & use
knocking someone out
Last updated
Meanings
phrasephrasal verb
Hitting someone so hard that they become unconscious.
Grammar: The pronoun goes between knock and out: knock someone out, not knock out someone.
Patterns
- knock someone out
- knock someone out with something
The boxer is knocking someone out in the first round.
He was knocking someone out with a single punch.
phrasephrasal verbsport
In sports, defeating an opponent so they leave a competition.
Grammar: Used mainly in tournaments and cup competitions.
Patterns
- knock someone out of a competition
The champion is knocking someone out of the tournament.
Our team is knocking someone out of the cup.
phrasephrasal verbinformal
Making someone very tired or making them fall asleep.
Grammar: Often used about medicine or a boring event.
Patterns
- knock someone out
That medicine is knocking someone out for hours.
The long meeting was knocking someone out.
phrasephrasal verbinformal
Greatly impressing or surprising someone.
Grammar: Usually in the passive: be knocked out by something.
Patterns
- knock someone out
Her performance is knocking someone out.
The view was knocking someone out.
Common combinations
- knock someone out cold
- The punch knocked him out cold.
- knock someone out of the tournament
- They knocked us out of the tournament in the semi-final.
- be knocked out by something
- We were knocked out by the beauty of the scene.
- knock yourself out
- Knock yourself out with the snacks.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- knockout noun
- A knockout is a hit that makes someone unconscious, or a competition to decide the winner.
Commonly confused: knocking someone out or knock out?
knocking someone out vs knock out
Knock out is the base form; knocking someone out is the -ing form.
Practice
The boxer is ___ in the first round.
Choose one answer.
The -ing form after is is knocking someone out. The pronoun must go between knocking and out, so knocking out someone is wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “knocking someone out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.