name
Meaning 1
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
knack
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/næk/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -æk
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homophone: nack
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CMU ARPABET: N AE1 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: skill, facility, dexterity, feeling
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A petty contrivance; a toy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: plaything, knickknack, toy
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: trick, device
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise; to chink.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, dialectal, obsolete
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 6
To speak affectedly.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
a special way of doing something
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- he had a bent for it
- he had a special knack for getting into trouble
- he couldn't get the hang of it
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: bent, hang
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: endowment, gift, talent, natural endowment
History
Etymology
German surname, variant of Knaack. Also as a German surname, from Bavarian genack (“neck”); see German Genick (“nape of the neck”), English neck.
Late Middle English, use as "special skill" from 1580. Possibly from 14th century Middle English krak, knack (“a sharp sound or blow”), knakke, knakken, from Middle Low German and of imitative origin, similar to Dutch knak (“snap, crack”). Latter cognate to German knacken (“to crack”). See also crack.
Across languages
Translations
68 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: сръчност (srǎčnost) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Bulgarian: похватност (pohvatnost) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Chinese Mandarin: 訣竅 /诀窍 (juéqiào) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Czech: schopnost — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Czech: dovednost — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Czech: obratnost — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Czech: zručnost — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Czech: talent — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Czech: fortel — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Finnish: taito — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- French: chic — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Georgian: უნარი (unari) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Georgian: ხერხი (xerxi) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Georgian: გაწაფულობა (gac̣apuloba) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Georgian: ცოდნა (codna) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- German: Gabe — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- German: Talent — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- German: Geschick — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- German: Fertigkeit — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- German: Kunstfertigkeit — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- German: Kunst — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Hungarian: ügyesség — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Hungarian: tehetség — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Hungarian: képesség — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Hungarian: érzék — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Irish: féith — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Italian: pallino — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Japanese: 才覚 (saikaku) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Kazakh: тетік (tetık) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Plautdietsch: Bejriff — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Polish: żyłka — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Polish: dryg — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Polish: smykałka — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Polish: biegłość — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Portuguese: talento — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Russian: сноровка (snorovka) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Spanish: aptitud — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Spanish: pegarle a — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Turkish: yetenek — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Turkish: marifet — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Turkish: ustalık — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Ukrainian: впра́вність (vprávnistʹ) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Ukrainian: упра́вність (uprávnistʹ) — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- Welsh: dawn — a readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
- German: Schnickschnack — a petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack
- German: Spielzeug — a petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack
- Hungarian: csecsebecse — a petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack
- Hungarian: mütyürke — a petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack
- Hungarian: nipp — a petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack
- Hungarian: dísztárgy — a petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack
- Hungarian: csetresz — a petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack
- Spanish: chisme — a petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack
- Bulgarian: цака (caka) — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Czech: fígl — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Czech: finta — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Czech: trik — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- German: Trick — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- German: Kniff — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- German: Kunststück — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Hungarian: fortély — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Hungarian: nyitja — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Spanish: truco — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Ukrainian: трюк (trjuk) — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Ukrainian: фо́кус (fókus) — something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
- Bulgarian: тряскам (trjaskam) — to crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink
- German: knacken — to crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink
- German: knarzen — to crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink
- German: blasiert sprechen — to speak affectedly