knockout

«knockout» in Mova's school dictionary: a punch or a win when a fighter is knocked down and… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a knockout, knockouts); adjective (knockout); also knock-out

meaning for a pupil

1) In boxing, a knockout is a punch or a win when a fighter is knocked down and cannot get up in time. tree →

2) A knockout competition is one where the loser of each game leaves, until one winner is left. tree →

3) (informal) A knockout is something or someone extremely good or beautiful: «The show was a knockout». tree →

sense in the lessons

In sport lessons and the news it describes tournaments: «the knockout stage of the World Cup». In maths, pupils count the games in a knockout tournament: with 16 teams, there are 8 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 15 games. In everyday talk, «a knockout» is high praise. Phrases: «knockout round», «knockout punch», «knock-out blow».

examples

• The boxer won by a knockout in round three. tree →
• England reached the knockout stage. tree →
• In a knockout cup, if you lose you go home. tree →
• With 32 teams in a knockout, there are 31 matches. tree →
• Her singing was an absolute knockout. tree →
• That was a knockout idea! tree →
• The dodgeball game was a knockout: hit players are out. tree →

note

Spelled as one word, or with a hyphen (knock-out, UK). The verb is two words: «knock out». Maths trick: in a knockout with n teams, there are always n − 1 games, because every game knocks out exactly one team. Being «knocked out» in real life (losing consciousness) is a serious injury; see a doctor.

In the corpora

• Seeing two balls, a headache, dizziness or just feeling odd can mean concussion, even with no knockout.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «knockout» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.