knacker
verb /ˈnækə(r)/
/ˈnækər/
(British English, slang)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they knacker | /ˈnækə(r)/ /ˈnækər/ |
| he / she / it knackers | /ˈnækəz/ /ˈnækərz/ |
| past simple knackered | /ˈnækəd/ /ˈnækərd/ |
| past participle knackered | /ˈnækəd/ /ˈnækərd/ |
| -ing form knackering | /ˈnækərɪŋ/ /ˈnækərɪŋ/ |
- knacker somebody to make somebody very tired synonym exhaust
- knacker somebody/something to injure somebody or damage something
- I knackered my ankle playing football.
Word Originlate 16th cent. (originally denoting a harness-maker, then a slaughterer of horses): possibly from obsolete knack ‘trinket’. The word also had the sense ‘old worn-out horse’ (late 18th cent.). It is unclear whether the verb represents a figurative use of “slaughter”, or of “castrate”.