White-knuckle
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Part of speech adjective
Quick meaning: White-knuckle is an adjective meaning (idiomatic) Causing fear, excitement, apprehension, suspense, or nervousness.
Meaning
(idiomatic) Causing fear, excitement, apprehension, suspense, or nervousness.
More Meanings
- (transitive) To endure despite feeling terror, fear, apprehension, anxiety, discomfort, or torment.
- (transitive) To grip tightly in fear, apprehension, suspense, or nervousness.
Example Sentences
The rest of the drive home I white knuckled it.
Most of the Denver-based Monitor writer’s work is less white-knuckle.
That lifting sensation is so strong, I inadvertently feel myself white-knuckling the hand grips.
There’s an industry term for white-knuckling it through crypto’s wild volatility without selling: “hodl.”
Word Forms
- white-knuckles
- white-knuckling
- white-knuckled
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include buttock-clenching, nerve-shredding, clawing, knee-trembling, blood-curdling, brass-knuckled.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.