I. noun
also nob ˈnäb
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English knobbe; akin to Middle Low German knubbe, knobbe knot on a tree, knob, Norwegian knubb block, Middle English knoppe, knopp bud, knob — more at knop
1.
a.
(1) : a relatively small usually rounded mass typically projecting from the surface or extremity of something : a usually rounded projection or protuberance or protrusion
a heavy club with knobs at one end
his nose ends in a puggy knob — N.M.Clark
a skull having a couple of peculiar knobs
(2) archaic : a small rather hard swelling (as a bump, pimple, pustule) on the surface of the skin
(3) : a twisted knot or hard excrescence or protuberance especially of wood : gnarl
knobs in the trunk of a tree
(4) : a tiny ball, loop, or tuft (as of thread or hair) formed by twisting or coiling or otherwise tightly drawing together one or more strands ; specifically : knop c
little knobs of wool or cotton in different colors — Mary Thomas
(5) : bun III 2
dark hair drawn into a tight little knob on the neck — Flora Thompson
b.
(1) : a small rounded mass of often carved ornamental work (as a boss at the intersection of the ribs in a vaulting) topping or capping a larger piece of work or serving as a contrastive detail
(2) : a small globular usually ornamental body typically at the top or other extremity of something (as at the top or end of a finial or on the hilt of a sword or at the front and top of a saddlebow) : pommel
(3) : finial
c.
(1) : a usually rounded projection by which something can be grasped or otherwise manipulated or moved
a metal bar with a knob at one end
specifically : a usually rounded handle (as of a drawer or door)
a door with a heavy knob of wrought metal
(2) : a usually rounded projection or a disk or dial typically having a guide mark or series of guide marks around the edge and capable of being turned or pulled or pushed so as to actuate or otherwise operate or control something (as a radio or television set)
he reached to turn on the radio but she pushed his hand from the knob almost angrily — E.K.Gann
an expert at knocking knobs off sales — Paul McClung
turns a control knob on the instrument panel — T.W.Rodes
d. : a spool-shaped porcelain insulator for supporting electric wires — see insulator illustration
2.
a.
(1) : a usually rounded land prominence (as a knoll, hillock, hill, small mountain) with usually steep sides ; especially : an isolated prominent rounded hill
(2) knobs plural : an area marked by a group of such prominences
a rifleman from the east Kentucky knobs — I.S.Cobb
b.
(1) : a usually tapering upward projection from the summit of a hill or mountain : peak
bare crags and knobs — W.M.Davis
(2) : something (as a boulder or group of boulders or a stony area) projecting from the summit or sides of a hill or mountain
erosion wore down the mountains, exposing knobs of harder granite — American Guide Series: Minnesota
patches of ragged grass and knobs of boulders — Dixon Wecter
3. chiefly Britain : a small lump of something : a small piece
a scraggly looking salad and a few knobs of cheese — Dawn Powell
a knob of coal
especially : a small cube
a knob of sugar
dropped a knob of ice into the glass
4. archaic : head
a diminutive head like the knob of a mannikin — George Santayana
•
- with knobs on
II. transitive verb
also nob “
( knobbed ; knobbed ; knobbing ; knobs )
1. : to cause to have knobs : form knobs upon
knobbing a sheet of metal
2. : to provide with a knob
wrought-iron gates, knobbed on either side with stone balls — Edmund Wilson