knife

Universal Words noun, verb noun (plural knives ) a sharp blade with a handle, used for cutting or as a weapon: knives and forks * a sharp knife * a bread knife (= one for cutting bread) * He had been stabbed repeatedly with a kitchen knife. * She was murdered in a frenzied knife attack. seealsoFLICKKNIFE, JACKKNIFE, PALETTEKNIFE, PENKNIFE, STANLEYKNIFE IDIOMS the knives are out (for sb) the situation has become so bad that people are preparing to make one person take the blame, for example by taking away their job: The knives are out for the chancellor. like a knife through butter (informal) easily; without meeting any difficulty put / stick the knife in