TOP

Definition of knell noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

knell

noun
 
/nel/
 
/nel/
(also death knell)
[singular]
jump to other results
  1. an event that means that the end or destruction of something will come soon
    Word OriginOld English cnyll (noun), cnyllan (verb), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch knal (noun), knallen (verb) ‘bang, pop, crack’. The current spelling (dating from the 16th cent.) is perhaps influenced by bell.
See knell in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: knell

Other results

All matches

Nearby words

brink
noun
 
 
From the Topic
Danger
C2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day