knock back

verb

knocked back; knocking back; knocks back

transitive verb

: drink, swallow
specifically : to toss down (an alcoholic beverage)

Examples of knock back in a Sentence

desperately thirsty, she knocked back an entire glass of water without pausing
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
His rescuers were absolutely hammered— knocking back beers, aimlessly touring the storm—but their drunken hearts were in the right place. Leath Tonino, Outside Online, 23 Feb. 2017 In Paris, Diana was tricked, by her husband and mine, into knocking back a wineglass that had a dead fly in it. Weike Wang, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2024 But later, Chiles' score was knocked back down when the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled her appeal was submitted four seconds too late. Laura L. Davis, USA TODAY, 12 Aug. 2024 Yet what so many of us recall haplessly knocking back in those bad old days is not even true tequila. Chantal Martineau, Foreign Affairs, 25 Nov. 2015 See all Example Sentences for knock back 

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1931, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of knock back was circa 1931

Dictionary Entries Near knock back

Cite this Entry

“Knock back.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knock%20back. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!