: a copy that sells for less than the original
broadly
: a copy or imitation of someone or something popular
knocked off; knocking off; knocks off
: to stop doing something
1
: to do hurriedly or routinely
knocked off one painting after another
2
: discontinue, stop
knocked off work at five
3
: deduct
knocked off a little to make the price more attractive
4
5
: rob
knocked off a couple of banks
Synonyms
Examples of knockoff in a Sentence
Noun
That purse is a knockoff.
Verb
decided it was time to knock off telling fantastic fibs about her family background
a proposal to knock 10 cents off the gasoline tax
Recent Examples on the Web
Louise Matsakis, WIRED, 10 Mar. 2024
The handcrafted iridescent artworks have spawned many modern knockoffs, from infinitely less expensive copies to Tiffany-style Star Wars lampshades.
—Jacoba Urist, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024
The Giants’ away grays — a classic jersey if there ever was one — debuted on Thursday and looked like cheap Alibaba knockoffs.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024
Facebook and Instagram are of the most popular channels for buying fakes: A survey of shoppers in 17 countries last year found that 68 percent of people who bought a knockoff on social media did so on Facebook.
—Louise Matsakis, WIRED, 10 Mar. 2024
There are Reddit threads explaining how to knit D.I.Y. versions, while knockoffs are sold by AliExpress, a Chinese e-commerce site known for selling counterfeit goods, as well as by street vendors in New York that some may associate more with cheap pashminas than with luxury-good duplicates.
—Misty White Sidell, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024
The video platform has quickly become one of the most popular apps in the U.S., with its short-form, music-laden videos sparking knockoffs from Meta (Reels) and Google (YouTube Shorts).
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
When press reports of AI knockoffs surface — an increasingly common occurrence — Amazon often removes the books in question from its site, and sometimes others along with them.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
The officials displayed a table piled high with knockoff sports memorabilia including jerseys, T-shirts, caps, beanies and a sparkling silver replica of the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy.
—Ken Ritter, Quartz, 6 Feb. 2024
USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Vandersloot becomes the first player in Division I history — men or women — to record 2,000 points and 1,000 assists in a career.
2014 — Mercer pulls off the biggest upset in the men’s NCAA tournament by knocking off Duke 78-71 in the second round.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Riverdale is the Class 4A girls state champion after knocking off Holy Family, 50-43.
—Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2024
College Best of the West: Rivalry game against Saint Mary’s could be must-win for Zags; SDSU rises to No. 5
Feb. 28, 2024
The sense of what might have been ramped up when the Tritons knocked off conference leader UC Irvine 92-88 in overtime Saturday.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
Taking an early lead and leaning on solid pitching, the Kansas City Royals looked plenty capable of knocking off the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 2 Apr. 2024
Zverev knocked off Christopher Eubanks, one of three American men who was left standing.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
King/Drew also advanced to the semifinals of the Southern California Division II playoffs while going on the road to knock off Southern Section champions Marina and La Habra.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024
The American was knocked off balance after landing a small jump before hitting a gate and colliding into the fences surrounding the slope.
—Ben Church, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024
Noun
Fox has even touted knockoff Ferrari car keys, suggesting in one TikTok video they could be used to impress someone on a first date.
—Louise Matsakis, WIRED, 10 Mar. 2024
The handcrafted iridescent artworks have spawned many modern knockoffs, from infinitely less expensive copies to Tiffany-style Star Wars lampshades.
—Jacoba Urist, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024
The Giants’ away grays — a classic jersey if there ever was one — debuted on Thursday and looked like cheap Alibaba knockoffs.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024
Facebook and Instagram are of the most popular channels for buying fakes: A survey of shoppers in 17 countries last year found that 68 percent of people who bought a knockoff on social media did so on Facebook.
—Louise Matsakis, WIRED, 10 Mar. 2024
There are Reddit threads explaining how to knit D.I.Y. versions, while knockoffs are sold by AliExpress, a Chinese e-commerce site known for selling counterfeit goods, as well as by street vendors in New York that some may associate more with cheap pashminas than with luxury-good duplicates.
—Misty White Sidell, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024
The video platform has quickly become one of the most popular apps in the U.S., with its short-form, music-laden videos sparking knockoffs from Meta (Reels) and Google (YouTube Shorts).
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2024
When press reports of AI knockoffs surface — an increasingly common occurrence — Amazon often removes the books in question from its site, and sometimes others along with them.
—Will Oremus, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
The officials displayed a table piled high with knockoff sports memorabilia including jerseys, T-shirts, caps, beanies and a sparkling silver replica of the Vince Lombardi Super Bowl trophy.
—Ken Ritter, Quartz, 6 Feb. 2024
Verb
The games come after 16 first-round games on Thursday, when the highlight was No. 14 Oakland knocking off No. 3 Kentucky.
—USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Vandersloot becomes the first player in Division I history — men or women — to record 2,000 points and 1,000 assists in a career.
2014 — Mercer pulls off the biggest upset in the men’s NCAA tournament by knocking off Duke 78-71 in the second round.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Riverdale is the Class 4A girls state champion after knocking off Holy Family, 50-43.
—Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2024
College Best of the West: Rivalry game against Saint Mary’s could be must-win for Zags; SDSU rises to No. 5
Feb. 28, 2024
The sense of what might have been ramped up when the Tritons knocked off conference leader UC Irvine 92-88 in overtime Saturday.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024
Taking an early lead and leaning on solid pitching, the Kansas City Royals looked plenty capable of knocking off the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 2 Apr. 2024
Zverev knocked off Christopher Eubanks, one of three American men who was left standing.
—Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 25 Mar. 2024
King/Drew also advanced to the semifinals of the Southern California Division II playoffs while going on the road to knock off Southern Section champions Marina and La Habra.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024
The American was knocked off balance after landing a small jump before hitting a gate and colliding into the fences surrounding the slope.
—Ben Church, CNN, 8 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'knockoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1966, in the meaning defined above
Verb
1649, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Dictionary Entries Near knockoff
Cite this Entry
“Knockoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knockoff. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
knock off
verb
: to stop doing something
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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