# knuckle

Pronunciation: say "NUK-uhl" /ˈnʌkəl/

## Noun

1. Any of the joints connecting the bones of the fingers.
   - Simple: One of the bony joints where your fingers bend.
   - _The boxer's knuckles were bruised after the long fight._
   - _A swollen knuckle made bending the finger painful._
2. A cut of meat of various kinds, typically from around a joint of the animal.
   - Simple: A cut of meat taken from around a joint, such as the leg.
   - _The recipe calls for a veal knuckle simmered for several hours._
   - _He braised a pork knuckle until the meat fell off the bone._
3. A device, usually of brass or iron and fitted with points, worn over the hand to protect it, add force to a blow, and disfigure the person struck.
   - Simple: A metal guard with points, worn over the fingers to make a punch hurt more.
   - _The bouncer took a set of brass knuckles off a man at the door before the fight could start._
   - _Police seized several sets of iron knuckles during the raid._
7. A connecting joint between parts of a machine, allowing the parts to pivot or move.
   - Simple: A joint in a machine that lets two parts move or turn.
   - _Engineers replaced the worn knuckle that connected the two steel arms._
   - _The mechanism's knuckles allowed the panels to fold flat._
9. The knee joint of a four-legged animal, especially a calf; in former times, the knee joint of a person.
   - Simple: The knee joint of a four-legged animal, especially a calf.
   - _The vet treated an infection in the calf's knuckle._
   - _Strain in the animal's knuckles slowed the whole herd._
11. A convex part of a vessel's hull where its shape changes sharply, as where a nearly vertical side meets a nearly flat bottom.
   - Simple: On a boat's hull, a sharp bend where one surface meets another at an angle.
   - _Shipwrights welded extra plating along the knuckle of the canal boat._
   - _The hull's sharp knuckle made the vessel sit oddly in the water._
12. The rounded point on a ski slope where a flat section changes into a downward slope.
   - Simple: On a ski slope, the rounded spot where flat ground starts to drop downhill.
   - _The freestyle skier cleared the knuckle and landed on the steeper pitch below._
   - _Coming up short, he caught his board on the knuckle._
14. The curved part of the cushion at the entrance to a pocket on a pool or snooker table.
   - Simple: On a pool table, the curved edge of the cushion at the mouth of a pocket.
   - _The cue ball clipped the knuckle and stayed out of the corner pocket._
   - _A precise shot can ride the knuckle straight into the pocket._

## Verb

4. To strike or punch someone. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To hit someone hard with your fist.
   - _The sailor threatened to knuckle anyone who mocked him._
   - _She knuckled her attacker square in the jaw._
5. To apply pressure to, rub, or massage something with one's knuckles.
   - Simple: To press, rub, or massage something using your knuckles.
   - _The masseuse knuckled the knots along his spine._
   - _Bakers often knuckle the dough to release trapped gas._
6. To submit or give in, especially under pressure.
   - Simple: To give in and stop fighting against someone or something.
   - _The committee refused to knuckle despite the public outcry._
   - _Faced with mounting debt, the company eventually knuckled._
8. To bend or curl the fingers.
   - Simple: To bend or curl your fingers.
   - _Her hands knuckled instinctively as she braced for the fall._
   - _Climbers knuckle hard to keep a grip on tiny holds._
10. To touch one's forehead with the knuckles as a sign of respect.
   - Simple: To touch your forehead with your hand to show respect.
   - _The farmhands knuckled to the visiting gentry without a word._
   - _Old sailors still knuckle to the captain out of habit._
13. To land on the rounded transition point of a slope, where flat meets downhill, after jumping off a ramp above it.
   - Simple: To land on the rounded spot between flat ground and a slope after a jump.
   - _She knuckled the landing and felt the jolt run through her knees._
   - _If you slow down too much, you will knuckle just below the lip._

## Noun

15. The joint or node of a plant, where a leaf or branch grows from the stem. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: On a plant stem, the swollen point where a leaf or branch grows out.
   - _Gardeners trimmed each stem just above its lowest knuckle._
   - _New leaves unfurled from every knuckle along the cane._

## Origin

From Middle English knokel ("finger joint"), from Old English cnucel ("the juncture of two bones; joint"), going back through Proto-West Germanic to Proto-Germanic *knukilaz ("knuckle, knot, bump"). It is related to Dutch knokkel, German Knöchel ("ankle, knuckle"), and Old Norse knykill.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/knuckle (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).