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knob

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knob

  • /nɒb/ UK
  • /nɑb/ US

Sounds like nob · Rhymes with -ɒb

Where it comes from

From Middle English knobbe, from Middle Low German knobbe (“knob, knot in wood, bud”), probably ultimately from a variant of Proto-Germanic *knappô (“knob, lump”), one of several kn- words related to *knudaną (“to knead”).

Compare Middle Dutch knobbe, cnoppe, Middle Low German knobbe (“knob, knot in wood”), knubbe, Dutch knop (“knob, button, bud”), Old Frisian knopp, knapp, Old High German knopf (“bud, pommel of a sword, knot, loop”), Middle High German knospe, German Knopf (“button, knob”), Knospe (“bud”), Danish knap (“button”), knop (“knob, button, bud”), Faroese knappur (“button”), Icelandic hnappur (“button”), Norn knapp (“round button”), knubbi (“potato”), snapp (“knob, round top”), Norwegian and Swedish knapp (“button”), Norwegian knopp (“bud”), Swedish knopp (“bud, knob”), Finnish nappi (“button, knob”), nuppi (“knob, pommel”), Old Norse knyfill (“short horn”).

Also compare Middle English knap, knappe (“small projection, knob (button, tassel, tuft, etc.), hill, hilltop, etc.)”), from Old English cnæp, cnæpp (“summit, top”), which is possibly related to Old Norse knappr (“small projection, knob (button, head of a stick, etc.)”) (whence English knop), from Proto-Germanic *knappô (“knob, lump”), *knuppô (“lump, clod”).

Cognate with Dutch knob, knobbel (“knob”), German Knubbe, Knubbel (“knob”). See also knop. For the sense of a rounded hill, see nab and knab.

noun knobs

  1. A rounded protuberance, especially one arising from a flat surface; a fleshy lump or caruncle.
  2. A rounded control switch that can be turned on its axis, designed to be operated by the fingers.
  3. A ball-shaped part of a handle, lever, etc., designed to be grabbed by the hand.
  4. A rounded ornament on the hilt of an edged weapon; a pommel.
  5. A prominent, rounded bump along a mountain ridge.
  6. Appalachia A prominent rounded hill. We climbed to the top of Slate Hill, the highest knob in our town, and Ricky gave me a whole talk on how slate formed, how it was and was not shale.
  7. in plural, slang A woman's breast.
  8. slang The head of the penis; the glans.

    Similar: knobhead

  9. broadly, derogatory, slang A contemptible person; a dick. Arthur slammed his fist down on the table so hard, the cup jumped, spilling coffee. The rotten bastard means to have the guvnor’s guts. That fucking knob has never been on a live deployment in his entire life.[…]

    Similar: knobhead, knobber, assbag, assbreath, assbucket, asschunk, asscunt, assface, assfag, assfaggot, assfuck, assfucker

  10. slang, vulgar The clitoris. A hot and strong sexual odour emanated from her fanny. I extended my head and pressed my nose between her lips. I pushed my tongue into her crack and lapped up the juices. [...] Then I moved up and grasped her long clitoris in my lips and began to suck and play with it with my tongue. She thrashed a
  11. A dollop, an amount just larger than a spoonful (usually referring to butter).
  12. A chunky branch-like piece, especially of a ginger rhizome. Place whole, unpeeled knobs of ginger in a zipper-lock freezer bag for up to 3 months. Slice or break off what you need and return the rest to the freezer.
  13. A bulb of the garlic plant consisting of multiple cloves.
  14. US, slang A freshman at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. Males voices, raised in anger, screamed at an unseen freshman. One voice demanded to know the rank on each jacket. “Hey, smack, what rank is this cadet uniform? Answer me, knob! Don’t you know, knob? What’s wrong, are you stupid, knob? For the first time since arriving at The Citadel, I fought to ke

verb knobs · knobbing · knobbed

  1. intransitive protrude
  2. transitive furnish or produce with a knob, knobble
  3. UK, slang, transitive, vulgar, of a man To have sex with. One morning, maybe three weeks after my last grapple with Penny, Thomson came roaring into our form room. ‘Oi, Fleming, you spastic. Guess who I knobbed last night?’

Similar: dick, get up in, schlong

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: node, pommel, handful, button, fistful, handhold, wrench, handle, hilt, grip, buttons, key, doorknob, shooter, pushbutton, puller

verb

Similar: dick, get up in, schlong

Translations

Every language

noun rounded protuberance, handle, or control switch

Españolperilla, asa
Portuguêscalombo, manopla, pomo
Françaispoignée, bouton, pommeau
DeutschKnopf, Knauf, Drehknopf, Drehschalter, Schalter
Italianomaniglia, manopola, pomello
Русскийру́чка rúčka, вы́пуклость výpuklostʹ

noun the penis

Françaisnœud

noun a prominent rounded hill

Italianoprotuberanza

noun in cooking, an amount just larger than a spoonful, usually of butter

Françaisnoix

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Cite this
MLA

"knob." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/knob. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

knob. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/knob

Chicago

"knob." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/knob.

BibTeX
@misc{knob_2026,
  title = {knob},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/knob},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}