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Entry 5 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Knife

/(nīf)/ · IPA /naɪf/
01 n. An instrument consisting of a thin blade, usually of steel and having a sharp edge for cutting, fastened to a handle, but of many different…
pl. Knives ((nīvz))
  1. 1.
    An instrument consisting of a thin blade, usually of steel and having a sharp edge for cutting, fastened to a handle, but of many different forms and names for different uses; as, table knife, drawing knife, putty knife, pallet knife, pocketknife, penknife, chopping knife, etc..
  2. 2.
    A sword or dagger.
    “The coward conquest of a wretch's knife.” — Shak.
Phrases & compounds
Knife grass — a tropical American sedge (Scleria latifolia), having leaves with a very sharp and hard edge, like a knife.
War to the knife — mortal combat; a conflict carried to the last extremity.
02 v. t. To prune with the knife.
imp. & p. p. Knifed; p. pr. & vb. n. Knifing
  1. 1.
    To prune with the knife.(Hort.)
  2. 2.
    To cut or stab with a knife.[Low]
  3. 3.
    Fig.: To stab in the back; to try to defeat by underhand means, esp. in politics; to vote or work secretly against (a candidate of one's own party).[Slang, U. S.]