English Meaning & Definitions
To yield, surrender, or submit under pressure or authority after initial resistance.
- “After hours of grueling interrogation, the suspect finally decided to knuckle under and confess.”
- “The union refused to knuckle under to the management's unreasonable demands.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “knuckle under”.
Originating in the 19th century, the phrase likely derives from the physical action of kneeling or bending the joints (knuckles) to the ground in a posture of submission, surrender, or defeat.
Picture someone getting down on their knuckles to crawl under the weight of pressure, finally giving up.
Frequently Asked Questions About “knuckle under”
1. What is the meaning of “knuckle under” in English?
In English, knuckle under (idiom) is defined as: “To yield, surrender, or submit under pressure or authority after initial resistance.”.
2. How do you use “knuckle under” in a sentence?
“After hours of grueling interrogation, the suspect finally decided to knuckle under and confess.”
3. What are English synonyms of “knuckle under”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “knuckle under”?
Originating in the 19th century, the phrase likely derives from the physical action of kneeling or bending the joints (knuckles) to the ground in a posture of submission, surrender, or defeat.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →A measurement of time indicating an instantaneous occurrence or a state where no time has elapsed.
The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.