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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
Our early ancestors apparently knapped the same style of handheld, multipurpose hand ax for 1.6 million years, with only minor tweaks to the template.
—Heather Pringle, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016
Elders transmit other kinds of cultural knowledge, too—from environmental (what kinds of plants are poisonous or where to find water during a drought, for example) to technological (how to weave a basket or knap a stone knife, perhaps).
—Rachel Caspari, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016
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
Relics unearthed in Flores indicate that the hobbits used large stones as hammers to knap and chip away at stone flakes, shaping them into cutting tools.
—Jill Neimark, Discover Magazine, 28 July 2011
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
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
Our early ancestors apparently knapped the same style of handheld, multipurpose hand ax for 1.6 million years, with only minor tweaks to the template.
—Heather Pringle, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016
Elders transmit other kinds of cultural knowledge, too—from environmental (what kinds of plants are poisonous or where to find water during a drought, for example) to technological (how to weave a basket or knap a stone knife, perhaps).
—Rachel Caspari, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016
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
Relics unearthed in Flores indicate that the hobbits used large stones as hammers to knap and chip away at stone flakes, shaping them into cutting tools.
—Jill Neimark, Discover Magazine, 28 July 2011
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knap
Verb
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One of the earliest pieces of evidence of using land to borrow goes back to the Code of Hammurabi, chiseled into stone almost 4,000 years ago.—
Roger Valdez,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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Might as well have been chiseled into stone on Sinai.—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
2 Dec. 2024
Verb
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And unlike the rare total solar eclipse that carved a path of totality across only a portion of states in 2024, this month's lunar eclipse will be viewable in all of the lower 48 states.—
Greta Cross,
USA TODAY,
8 Mar. 2025
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Shear also shows promise as a talented director of fellow actors while also carving himself a major role as Allen often did.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
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Faithfully adapted into an excellent Hulu limited series, the panoramic tale hewed closely to the details of Hunter’s own improbable family history, highlighting instances of fortitude, resourcefulness and luck.—
Julia M. Klein,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2025
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This version hews a little closer to the source and also has the coldest, most clinical take so far, courtesy of Robert Elswit’s gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and Steven Zaillian’s ace direction.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
19 Feb. 2025
Verb
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To end, a sculpting massage was performed to enhance circulation, lift, and define the facial contour, and lastly, The Face Oil was applied all over the complexion for the makeup base. Follow me on Twitter.—
Felicity Carter,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
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These pants provide tummy tuck control, accentuate your features and sculpt your legs.—
Lauryn Jiles,
Miami Herald,
3 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Within the scheme’s first week, traffic had fallen by 7.5%, with 273,000 fewer cars entering Manhattan’s central business district, and travel times on inbound river crossings had been cut by more than a third, leading to faster bus journeys.—
Laurie Winkless,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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How about water: The Trump administration is cutting about 10% of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s California staff.—
Sammy Roth,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Knap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knap. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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