Word of the Day
: February 26, 2026knackered
playWhat It Means
Knackered is an adjective mostly used informally in British English to mean “very tired or exhausted.”
// Unfortunately, I was too knackered after work to join them for dinner.
knackered in Context
“‘How are you doing?’ ‘Yeah, good thanks... just tired.’ I don’t know about you, but it feels like I’m having a version of this exchange at least once a day. It seems that everyone I know is genuinely and profoundly knackered. My friends say it. My postman says it. My teenage son says it. Even my partner, who usually has the energy levels of a Duracell-powered soft toy, grudgingly admits his batteries are drained.” — Sara Robinson, The Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales), 22 Nov. 2025
Did You Know?
An apt synonym for knackered might be the phrase “dead tired” for more than one reason. Knackered is a 20th century coinage that comes from the past participle of knacker, a slang term meaning “to kill,” as well as “to tire, exhaust, or wear out.” This verb knacker likely comes from an older noun knacker, which first referred to a harness-maker or saddlemaker, and later to a buyer of animals no longer able to do farmwork (or their carcasses). Knackered is used on both sides of the Atlantic but is more common among British speakers.
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Test Your Vocabulary
Fill in the blanks to complete a word that means “exhausted” or “tired” : b _ s _ e d.
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