Meaning of knacker in English

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈnækər/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent Play button

  1. Noun

    knacker

    Etymology

    late 16th century (originally denoting a harness-maker, then a slaughterer of horses): possibly from obsolete knack ‘trinket’. The word also had the sense ‘old worn-out horse’ (late 18th century). knacker (sense 2 of the noun) may be from dialect knacker ‘castanet’, from obsolete knack ‘make a sharp abrupt noise’, of imitative origin. It is unclear whether the verb represents a figurative use of ‘slaughter’, from knacker (sense 1 of the noun), or of ‘castrate’, from knacker (sense 2 of the noun)

    Definitions

    1. someone who buys old buildings or ships and breaks them up to recover the materials in them
  2. 2. someone who buys up old horses for slaughter