noun

knuckle

NUH-kuhl

noun

Any of the joints of the fingers, especially where the fingers meet the hand.

"He rapped his knuckles on the table to get everyone's attention."

verb

To give in or submit, often used in the phrase "knuckle under."

"He refused to knuckle under to pressure from his rivals."

How to Use Knuckle

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe joints of your fingers, or, as a verb, to give in to pressure.

Common pairings

crack your knuckles knuckle down knuckle under

knuckled past tense, knuckles plural, knuckles singular

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He rapped his _____ on the table to get everyone's attention.

From Old English cnucel, "the joint between two bones," closely related to the word knock.

buckle suckle chuckle honeysuckle