I. knuck ‧ le 1 /ˈnʌk ə l/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Middle Low German ; Origin: knökel 'small bone, knuckle' ]
1 . your knuckles are the joints in your fingers, including the ones where your fingers join your hands:
Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the gun.
2 . a piece of meat around the lowest leg joint of a pig:
a knuckle of pork
3 . near the knuckle British English informal rude, or likely to give offence:
Some of his jokes are a bit near the knuckle.
⇨ a rap on/over the knuckles at ↑ rap 1 (6), ⇨ rap somebody on/over the knuckles at ↑ rap 2 (5)
II. knuckle 2 BrE AmE verb
knuckle down phrasal verb informal
to suddenly start working or studying hard SYN get down to :
If he doesn’t knuckle down soon, he’ll never get through those exams.
knuckle down to
He is clearly ready to knuckle down to the task.
knuckle under phrasal verb informal
to accept someone’s authority or orders although you do not want to