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knack

/næk/
/næk/
IPA guide

Other forms: knacks

If you have a knack for doing something, you do it well. You may have a knack for baking cakes or a knack for cracking jokes. These things come easy to you.

Although the noun knack refers to a special talent, the sense is that it is a more innate talent — as opposed to a certain technique. So if someone instinctively has a talent for fixing plumbing, for example, you can say they have a knack for it. If, however, they unclog a sink by having a wrench in one hand and a how-to book in the other, then they may have the technique, but they probably don't have the knack.

Definitions of knack
  1. noun
    a special way of doing something
    “he had a special knack for getting into trouble”
    synonyms: bent, hang
    see moresee less
    type of:
    endowment, gift, natural endowment, talent
    natural abilities or qualities
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