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Recent Examples of knap
And that’s mostly true; Neanderthals in both places used broadly similar techniques to make similar tools: triangular flakes and points, knapped from flint.
—
ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
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 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
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
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
There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow.
—Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020
His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools.
—1843, 20 Feb. 2020
ArsTechnica, 18 July 2025
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 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
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
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
There was the first time someone knapped and hafted a rock onto a spear shaft, and the first time someone strung up a bow.
—Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2020
His hair was unruly and his large, blunt fingers were usually fishing for a cigarette, except when preoccupied with his favourite hobby: knapping prehistoric flint tools.
—1843, 20 Feb. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knap
Verb
-
The hood looks chiseled, and the whole silhouette gives a very boxy feel.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Charlotte has the assets to chisel its way into the acquisition conversation over the next two months, leaving Peterson in solid position to make some upgrades and possibly tweak the Hornets’ roster makeup to increase the physicality necessary to hang with some of the NBA’s top teams.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
At the same time, the tornado carved a more than two-mile curve through Cass County, bringing winds up to 110 miles per hour.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Today, Indigenous writers such as herself have carved out a dedicated place within fiction and non-fiction alike.—
Kat Chen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Tobolowsky came late to sculpture, at least as a profession.—
Tribune News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
-
Semi-wild pigs snuffle beneath the huge granite boulders, solid and immutable as Henry Moore sculptures, that define this otherworldly landscape.—
Catherine Fairweather,
Condé Nast Traveler,
1 July 2025
Verb
-
Las acciones de Google son especialmente insensibles y graves ante el cierre administrativo temporal del gobierno (shutdown), ignorando las peticiones de funcionarios gubernamentales y organizaciones hispanas que les solicitaron mantener la programación de Univision en el paquete principal.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Better yet, the superstar—who recently graved our TV screens on The White Lotus—worked with stylist Brett Alan Nelson to deliver custom outfits for the set.—
Christian Allaire,
Vogue,
19 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Line by line, mark by mark, medieval builders figured out how to shape stone and pour light, conjuring complete buildings on parchment before the first rock was hewn.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
23 Apr. 2026
-
His tenure lasted until 1962, during which time he was joined by the notable poet and critic Edwin Denby, whose work hewed rather firmly to criticism.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Director Gay has sculpted a staging that is faithful to a more leisurely 19th-century storytelling style, yet satisfies modern audiences’ constant craving for stimulation.—
Rob Hubbard,
Twin Cities,
24 Apr. 2026
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Really, the entrance to that hell is a shot of a vending machine full of only red Gatorade, and the sculpting work that the sound team did to blend the grating atmospheric noise of the ER, Finneas’s tense score, and the key sound effects that connect us to Ashley’s fear and pain.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
When the Broncos cut Greenlaw, the 49ers wasted no time in bringing him back to pair with middle linebacker Fred Warner in hopes of reviving one of the NFL’s top linebacker tandems.—
Jerry McDonald,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
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Jacksonville general manager James Gladstone and coach Liam Coen cut their teeth as part of the Rams organization, learning from GM Les Snead and coach Sean McVay.—
Mark Long,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Knap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knap. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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