knife grinder

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈnaɪf ˌɡraɪndɚ/ UK /ˈnaɪf ˌɡraɪndə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person whose trade is sharpening knives and other edged tools, traditionally while traveling from place to place

The knife grinder pushed his wheeled grindstone from village to village.
2

noun
a machine or abrasive device used to grind or sharpen knife blades

The butcher adjusted the knife grinder before sharpening the worn blade.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person whose trade is... knife sharpenertool sharpenergrinder

2 noun · a machine or abrasive... knife sharpenergrinding wheelsharpener

Word family

Forms knife-grinders

Derived forms knife-grinding

Related forms grindstone whetstone cutlerscissor grinder

Etymology

An English compound of knife + grinder. Knife descends from Old English cnif, probably borrowed from Old Norse knifr. Grinder is the agent noun of grind, continuing Old English grindere ('one or something that grinds'). The term named an itinerant sharpening trade before also denoting a sharpening device.

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# knife grinder

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈnaɪf ˌɡraɪndɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈnaɪf ˌɡraɪndə/

## Meanings
1. a person whose trade is sharpening knives and other edged tools, traditionally while traveling from place to place
2. a machine or abrasive device used to grind or sharpen knife blades

## Examples
- The knife grinder pushed his wheeled grindstone from village to village.
- The butcher adjusted the knife grinder before sharpening the worn blade.

## Synonyms
- knife sharpener
- tool sharpener
- grinder
- grinding wheel

## Derived Forms
- knife-grinding

## Related Forms
- grindstone
- whetstone
- cutler
- scissor grinder

## Etymology
An English compound of knife + grinder. Knife descends from Old English cnif, probably borrowed from Old Norse knifr. Grinder is the agent noun of grind, continuing Old English grindere ('one or something that grinds'). The term named an itinerant sharpening trade before also denoting a sharpening device.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown