[knife] n, pl knives often attrib [ME knif, fr. OE cnif, perh. fr. ON knifr; akin to MLG knif knife] (bef. 12c) 1 a: a cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade fastened to a handle b: a weapon resembling a knife
2: a sharp cutting blade or tool in a machine
3: surgery 4--usu. used in the phrase under the knife -- knife.like adj
[2]knife vb knifed ; knif.ing vt (1865) 1: to use a knife on; specif: to stab, slash, or wound with a knife
2: to cut, mark, or spread with a knife
3: to try to defeat by underhanded means
4: to move like a knife in "birds knifing the autumn sky" ~ vi: to cut a way with or as if with a knife blade "the cruiser knifed through the heavy seas"