as in to sip
to swallow in liquid form
desperately thirsty, she knocked back an entire glass of water without pausing
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of knock back
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
Or at Shuggie’s, knocking back 750 ml of natural orange wine, poured directly into your mouth by Murphy from a Catalan porrón.
POUR IT ON
A trash pie at Shuggies in San Francisco.
—Tamar Adler, Vogue, 25 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for knock back 
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
Or at Shuggie’s, knocking back 750 ml of natural orange wine, poured directly into your mouth by Murphy from a Catalan porrón.
POUR IT ON
A trash pie at Shuggies in San Francisco.
—Tamar Adler, Vogue, 25 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for knock back
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knock back
Verb
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Whether sipping it straight, over ice, or using it as an ingredient in cocktails, here are the 13 best mezcals to buy now.—
Richard Carleton Hacker,
Robb Report,
24 Jan. 2025
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Depending on the studio, you may be encouraged to bring water to sip throughout the practice.—
Cory Martin,
Verywell Health,
23 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Neighbors called the residents of the apartment where Portillo was found dead problem tenants who were known to drink excessively and act rowdy.—
Ellen Moynihan,
New York Daily News,
16 Jan. 2025
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Angelle’s go-to drink for this month is an Orange Brûlée.—
Patrice J. Williams,
Essence,
15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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In a state of unimaginable desperation, Islam and his family would also turn to water, gulping it in desperate attempts to fill their stomachs.—
Daphne Ewing-Chow,
Forbes,
5 Jan. 2025
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But being exposed to an ambient, low-level dose of germs is very different from gulping down a concentrated slug of them.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
20 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near knock back
Cite this Entry
“Knock back.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knock%20back. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
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