D defs.my
Entry 7 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Knockabout

· Knock·a·bout · IPA /ˈnɑk.əˌbaʊt/
01 n. A small yacht, generally from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, having a mainsail and a jib; a sloop with a simplified rig and no bows…
  1. 1.
    A small yacht, generally from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, having a mainsail and a jib; a sloop with a simplified rig and no bowsprit. All knockabouts have ballast and either a keel or centerboard. The original type was twenty-one feet in length. The next larger type is called a raceabout.(Naut.)
  2. 2.
    A knockabout performer or performance.[Theat. Slang]
  3. 3.
    A man hired on a sheep station to do odd jobs.[Colloq., Australia]
02 a. Marked by knocking about or roughness.
  1. 1.
    Marked by knocking about or roughness.
  2. 2.
    Of noisy and violent character; marked by farce, pratfalls, and horseplay; as, knockabout comedy.[Theat. Slang]
  3. 3.
    Characterized by, or suitable for, knocking about, or traveling or wandering hither and thither; suitable for use in rough activity; suited for everyday use; -- used especially of clothing.
  4. 4.
    That does odd jobs; -- said of a class of hands or laborers on a sheep station.[Collog., Australia]
Syn. boisterous, slapstick. — Syn. -- casual, everyday.