1 knockabout | Definition of knockabout
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knockabout

adjective
knock·​about | \ ˈnäk-É™-ËŒbau̇t How to pronounce knockabout (audio) \

Definition of knockabout

1 : suitable for rough use knockabout clothing
2a : being noisy and rough : boisterous knockabout games
b : characterized by boisterous antics and often extravagant burlesque knockabout comedy
3 of a sailing vessel : having a simplified rig marked by absence of bowsprit and topmast a knockabout sloop
Other Words from knockabout Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about knockabout

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Other Words from knockabout

knockabout noun

Synonyms & Antonyms for knockabout

Synonyms

boisterous, hell-raising, rambunctious, raucous, robustious, roisterous, rollicking, rowdy, rumbustious [chiefly British]

Antonyms

orderly

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Examples of knockabout in a Sentence

He lived a knockabout life in the city. a knockabout game of football in the mud

Recent Examples on the Web

 Though thematically vague, thinly plotted and without a reliably sympathetic soul to cling to, the movie has a mutinous energy and an absurd, knockabout charm; even its violence is more quirky than brutal. — Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, "Review: In 'Trespass Against Us,' a Thieving Clan and a Yearning to Escape," 19 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'knockabout.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of knockabout

1880, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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More Definitions for knockabout

knockabout

adjective
How to pronounce knockabout (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of knockabout

: noisy or rough often in a silly or amusing way

See the full definition for knockabout in the English Language Learners Dictionary

More from Merriam-Webster on knockabout

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with knockabout

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for knockabout

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