Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of knap
If confirmed, our human ancestors started shaping bones by striking them at specific angles in a process known as knapping as much as 1.5 million years ago.
—
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2025
Rocks could be knapped, or shaped, into knife blades, spear points, ax heads, and more, allowing hunter-gatherers to take on new prey and use animal remains for clothing and other things.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
The course was jointly led by Ojibwe elders, who taught him how to knap flint, tan hides and build wigwams.
—Franz Lidz Meghan Dhaliwal, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022
Our Paleolithic ancestors learned to knap delicate blades from round stone cobbles, hunt large game and cook their food.
—Herman Pontzer, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022
Knowing how to make a friction fire, or how to whittle a paddle out of a log, or how to knap stone arrowheads all have their place in a survival situation (particularly fire making).
—Jim Baird, Field & Stream, 3 Aug. 2020
There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow.
—Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020
His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools.
—1843, 20 Feb. 2020
Shaggy Briton woodsmen in the vast pre-Roman forests of Cumbria, gripping their sacred Langdale axes, with glimmering heads knapped from the rare volcanic greenstone mined from the Pike of Stickle.
—Jonny Diamond, Longreads, 8 June 2019
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2025
Rocks could be knapped, or shaped, into knife blades, spear points, ax heads, and more, allowing hunter-gatherers to take on new prey and use animal remains for clothing and other things.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
The course was jointly led by Ojibwe elders, who taught him how to knap flint, tan hides and build wigwams.
—Franz Lidz Meghan Dhaliwal, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2022
Our Paleolithic ancestors learned to knap delicate blades from round stone cobbles, hunt large game and cook their food.
—Herman Pontzer, Scientific American, 12 Dec. 2022
Knowing how to make a friction fire, or how to whittle a paddle out of a log, or how to knap stone arrowheads all have their place in a survival situation (particularly fire making).
—Jim Baird, Field & Stream, 3 Aug. 2020
There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow.
—Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020
His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools.
—1843, 20 Feb. 2020
Shaggy Briton woodsmen in the vast pre-Roman forests of Cumbria, gripping their sacred Langdale axes, with glimmering heads knapped from the rare volcanic greenstone mined from the Pike of Stickle.
—Jonny Diamond, Longreads, 8 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knap
Verb
-
Sculptor Roman Villarreal, whose portfolio includes works on Chicago’s South Side and at Steelworkers Park, chiseled the turtles out of 15,00-pound chunks of limestone.—
Doug Ross,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2025
-
The three prisoners chiseled an escape route from their own jail cells and built makeshift, papier mâché heads.—
Ryan Morik,
Fox News,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
At other times, a pithy quotation is like a tour guide handing you a delicious insight about the canyon, cathedral, or carving you’re gazing at.—
Chris John Amorosino,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2025
-
Lawmakers in more than 30 states have carved out tax incentives for data center companies, arguing that without them, the data centers wouldn’t come—and that their presence is essential toward growing property and income tax revenue, and driving economic development.—
Andrew R. Chow,
Time,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Bourdelle’s voluminous works in marble, bronze, and wood fill the lofty mezzanine, while his bronze sculptures Héraklès archer (Hercules the Archer) and Centaure mourant (Dying Centaur) highlight the garden.—
Kasia Dietz,
Travel + Leisure,
29 July 2024
-
Co-developed with NISMO, Nissan’s in-house racing and customizing arm, the Hyper-Force’s carbon-fiber body is sculptured like a fighter jet with the sole purpose of going as fast as possible.—
Peter Lyon,
Forbes,
13 Nov. 2023
Verb
-
One Piece studio Toei Animation also prefers to hew close to the manga.—
Chris Snellgrove,
EW.com,
19 Apr. 2025
-
More likely to be affected are cheaper generic drugs, whose prices hew more closely to production costs.—
Rebecca Robbins,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Despite their warmth and humanism, his films can sometimes seem scathing or pessimistic — tragic comedies sculpted from the granite of American life.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Apr. 2025
-
This glowing cloud, colored by hydrogen and oxygen, is sculpted by powerful winds and radiation from a supremely hot, dying star at its center.—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
24 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry cut its gross domestic product forecast to 0%-2% for 2025, down from its previous outlook of 1%-3%.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2025
-
Place bottoms, cut sides up, in a 13- x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.—
Jasmine Smith,
Southern Living,
14 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Knap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knap. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share