knuckles

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of knuckle.

   The boxer wrapped tape around his knuckles before the fight.

   She rapped her knuckles against the door three times.

   Note

   More than finger joints share this plural. A machine's knuckles are its mechanical joints. A cue-sports table has knuckles at the curved cushions guarding each pocket, and a butcher sells knuckles as cuts of meat. Calves and other four-legged animals have knuckles at the knee, a use once applied to people too. An older botanical use, now obsolete, called a plant's joints its knuckles.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of knuckle.

   Whenever a deadline looms, she knuckles down and finishes the work early.

   The team rarely knuckles under to pressure from rival negotiators.

   Note

   Here one spelling serves both kinds of verb. With an object it means pressing or rubbing with the knuckles, or, in slang, striking someone. Without one it means bending the fingers, touching the forehead as a mark of respect, or, figuratively, yielding. The salute and the yielding sit close together, since both are gestures of deference. The same form also names landing on the curved top of a slope after a ramp jump.

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