knife

knife1 [ naıf ] (plural knives [ naıvz ] ) noun count ***

an object with a sharp blade for cutting food:

You need a sharp knife for the steak.

knives and forks

a kitchen/bread/carving knife

a. an object with a blade, used as a weapon or tool:

He claims he carries a knife for protection.

The man held a knife to my throat.

b. a doctor's SCALPEL

the knives are out INFORMAL

used for saying that people are being very unfriendly or deliberately causing problems

like a (hot) knife through butter

very quickly or easily:

The boat sliced through the waves like a hot knife through butter.

put/stick the knife in INFORMAL

to criticize someone very strongly, especially when they are already weak:

The media are always the first to stick the knife in.

twist/turn the knife (in the wound)

to make a bad situation even worse:

Every word he spoke was like twisting a knife in the wound.

under the knife INFORMAL

used for saying that someone is having an operation:

He was due to go under the knife today.

you could cut the air/atmosphere with a knife

used for saying that a situation was difficult or embarrassing, because people were very angry or upset:

As soon as he came into the room, you could have cut the atmosphere with a knife.

knife

knife 2 [ naıf ] verb transitive

to injure or kill someone with a knife:

The couple were found knifed to death.