knowBrE /nəʊ/ NAmE /noʊ/► SEE ALLbefore you know where you arebe not to knowfor all I, you, etc. knowin the knowit takes one to know oneknow sb/sth backwardsknow bestknow better (than that/than to do sth)know sb by sightknow different/otherwiseknow sth full/perfectly/very wellknow sb/sth inside outknow sth like the back of your handknow no boundsknow your own mindknow your placeknow the scoreknow your stuffknow a thing or two (about sb/sth)know your way about/around (sth)know what it is to be/do sthknow what you’re doing/aboutknow what you’re talking aboutknow what’s good for youknow what’s whatknow where you are/standknow where you’re goingknow which side your bread is butteredlet sb knownot know any betternot know you’re bornnot know your arse from your elbownot know beans about sthnot know the first thing about sb/sthnot know sb from Adamnot know the meaning of the wordnot know what hit younot know what you’re missingnot know what to do with yourselfnot know whether you’re coming or goingnot know whether to laugh or crynot know which way/where to looknot know which way/where to turn(well) what do you know (about that)?you knowyou know as well as I doyou know who/whatyou never know (with sb/sth)have/know all the answersbetter the devil you know (than the devil you don’t)not know/not be able to tell one end of sth from the otherthe left hand doesn’t know what the right hand’s doinghave/know/get sth off patshow sb/learn/know the ropesI/I’ll tell you whatI know whatnot want to know (about sth)what is the world coming to? ●before you know where you ˈarebefore you have time to realize that sth has happened瞬息之间；转眼间；还没回过神来◆We were whisked off in a cab before we knew where we were. 还没等我们弄清楚怎么回事，出租车就一阵风似的把我们带走了。◆Before she knew where she was, her bag had been snatched and the thief was running away with it. 她还没反应过来，包就被抢走了，小偷也跑掉了。●be not to ˈknowhave no way of realizing or being aware that you have done sth wrong无从知道，并不知道（做错了事）◆‘I’m sorry I called when you were asleep.’ ‘Don’t worry — you weren’t to know.’ “对不起，你睡觉时打电话打扰你了。”“别在意，你又不是故意的嘛。”●for all ˈI, ˈyou, etc. know (spoken) used to emphasize that sb does not know sth（用于强调）不知道，说不定，亦未可知◆She could be dead for all I know. 她说不定已经死了。●in the ˈknow (informal) having information or knowledge that most other people do not have知道内情；熟悉内幕◆Only a few of us were in the know about the date of the wedding. We didn’t want the press to find out. 只有我们几个人知道婚礼的日期，我们不想让媒体知道这件事。◆People in the know say that this is the best Spanish wine you can buy. 内行人说，这是能买到的最好的西班牙葡萄酒。●it ˌtakes one to ˈknow one (informal, disapproving) you are the same kind of person as the person you are criticizing半斤八两；五十步笑百步◆‘Your brother is a real idiot.’ ‘Well, it takes one to know one.’ “你弟弟真是个蠢货。”“你也好不到哪里去。”●know sb/sth ˈbackwards (informal, especially BrE) know sb/sth extremely well对…了如指掌（或倒背如流）；把…背得滚瓜烂熟◆He must know the play backwards by now — he’s seen it six times! 现在他一定能对这个剧本烂熟于心，他已经看过六遍了！●know ˈbestknow what should be done in a situation because you have knowledge and/or experience最懂得，最了解，比谁都明白（该怎么做）◆‘I want to get up.’ ‘But the doctor said you were to stay in bed, and he knows best.’ “我想起床。”“可是医生说你要卧床休息，他最清楚你该怎么做。”◆Everyone said that I shouldn’t go there alone but I thought I knew best. 大家都说我不该一个人去那儿，可是我想我最清楚该怎么做。●know ˈbetter (than that/than to do sth)be sensible enough not to do sth明白事理（而不至于）；不至于糊涂到◆You left the car unlocked? I thought you’d know better. 你没把车锁上？ 我还以为你不至于那么糊涂。◆He knows better than to judge by appearances. 他不傻，不会凭表面现象来推断。●know sb by ˈsightrecognize sb and know who they are, without having spoken to them与某人面熟◆I haven’t actually met Dr. Galston, but I know him by sight of course. 我不曾真正拜会过高尔斯顿博士，不过我认识他。●know ˈdifferent/ˈotherwise (informal) have more information about sth所知道的不是那么回事；所掌握的情况大不一样；持不同意见◆She thought he was upset about the divorce, but I knew different. 她以为他为离婚的事很沮丧，可我知道不是那么回事。●know sth ˌfull/ˌperfectly/ˌvery ˈwellused when you wish to indicate that the person you are speaking to already knows sth you have just said or are about to say非常清楚；完全明白◆You know full well that smoking is forbidden in this room. 你很清楚这个房间里禁止吸烟。◆You know perfectly well what I am referring to. 你非常清楚我指的是什么。●know sb/sth inside ˈout (informal) know sb/sth very well通晓；对…极为熟悉；了如指掌◆You’ve read that book so often that you must know it inside out by now. 你经常读这本书，应该对它了如指掌了吧。◆She knows me inside out. I can’t hide anything from her. 她对我知根知底，任何事都瞒不过她。●know sth like the back of your ˈhand (informal) know a place very well对…极为熟悉；了如指掌；如数家珍◆As a taxi driver, you have to know the city like the back of your hand. 作为一名出租车司机，你得对这所城市了如指掌。●know no ˈbounds (usually with abstract nouns通常与抽象名词连用) be without limits; be very great无限；无止境；很大◆His generosity knows no bounds. 他极为慷慨。●know your own ˈmindknow what you want or like知道自己想做什么；有主见；有决断◆At 25 you’re old enough to know your own mind and make these decisions for yourself. 你已经 25 岁了，该有主见了，自己作这些决定吧。●know your ˈplacebehave in a way that shows that you know what your social position is and which people are more important than you知道自己的位置；有自知之明；守本分◆My grandfather believed that life was simpler when he was young, when everybody knew their place. 我的祖父觉得他年轻时生活要简单得多，那时人们都安分守己。●know the ˈscore (informal) know the true situation, especially if this is bad了解实情；知道真相◆Look, you know the score, we can’t afford a car right now. 听着，你知道实情，我们目前没钱买车。●know your ˈstuff (informal) know everything that you should know about a job, a subject, etc.精通业务；对工作很内行◆I was very impressed by your lawyer. He really knows his stuff. 我很欣赏你的律师，他对法律十分精通。●know a thing or two (about sb/sth) (informal) know a lot about sb/sth from your own experience对…很了解；见多识广◆After ten years as a teacher, I know a thing or two about how children learn. 执教 10 年后，我很清楚孩子们如何学习。◆‘How much do you know about computers?’ ‘Oh, I know a thing or two.’ “你对计算机有多少了解？”“非常精通。”●know your way aˈbout/aˈround (sth)be familiar with a place, with how things are done etc.; be experienced熟悉周围情况；熟门熟路◆I’d used the library before, so I knew my way around and found the book quite quickly. 我以前来过这个图书馆，所以比较熟悉，很快就找到了我要的书。●know what it is to be/do sthhave personal experience of being/doing sth亲身经历过；深知其中滋味◆I know what it is to be a mother, so believe me when I say it is very hard work. 我是过来人，相信我，当母亲很辛苦。●know what you’re ˈdoing/aˈbout (informal) have experience of doing sth and therefore understand it fully对…有经验；老到◆‘I’m worried about David using that machine.’ ‘Don’t worry. He knows what he’s doing.’ “我不大放心戴维用那台机器。”“别担心，他有经验，知道怎么用。”●know what you’re ˈtalking about (informal) have good knowledge of sth; be an expert on sth熟知某事；作经验之谈◆I really enjoyed that lecture. She certainly knows what she’s talking about. 我很喜欢那个讲座，她对所谈的东西很熟悉。◆That history teacher doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He makes a lot of mistakes. 那个历史老师信口开河，错误百出。●know what’s ˈgood for youknow what is necessary for you to do to be successful, etc.; know how to avoid trouble知道好歹；知道怎样才能成功；知道如何避免麻烦◆If you know what’s good for you, young man, you’ll talk to nobody about what you’ve seen here tonight. 年轻人，如果你知道好歹的话，就别对任何人说起你今晚看到的事。●know what’s ˈwhat (informal) know all that needs to be known in a particular situation or in general是内行；有头脑；有鉴别能力◆Ask Ann. She knows what’s what. She’s been here for years. 去问安吧，她在这里很多年了，是个内行。●know where you ˈare/ˈstandknow what your position is; know what sb expects of you知道自己（在别人心目中）的位置◆I don’t know where I stand with him. I don’t know what he feels about me. 我不知道我在他心里的位置，也不知道他对我有什么看法。◆Has she talked to you about your chances of promotion? Do you know where you stand? 她对你说起过你升职的机会有多大吗？你知道自己处在什么位置吗？●know where you’re ˈgoingknow clearly what you want to achieve (in life, in your job, etc.)清楚自己的目标；有明确的追求◆He knows exactly where he’s going. He wants to be an actor. 他很清楚自己的人生目标，他想成为一名演员。●know which side your ˈbread is buttered (informal) know what to do in order to gain advantages, stay in a favourable situation, etc.知道自己的利益所在；善于为自己打算◆I’m sure Ray will make a special effort to please the new supervisor — after all, he knows which side his bread is buttered! 我相信雷会刻意讨好新来的主管，毕竟他知道自己的利益之所在！●let sb ˈknowtell sb about sth告诉（或通知）某人◆I don’t know if I can come, but I’ll let you know soon. 我不知道能不能来，但我会尽早通知你。◆Let me know how I can help. 告诉我怎么才能帮你。●not know any ˈbetternot behave well, politely, etc. because you have never learned how to（因缺乏教养而）举止无礼，没有礼貌◆You can’t blame him for his bad table manners; he doesn’t know any better. 别责怪他不懂餐桌礼仪，没有人教过他。●not know you’re ˈborn (BrE, spoken) not realize how easy your life or situation is compared to other people’s身在福中不知福◆Young people today don’t know they’re born. Life was much harder when I was a child. 现在的年轻人身在福中不知福，我小时候生活苦得多。●not know your ˌarse from your ˈelbow (BrE) (NAmEnot know your ˌass from your ˈelbow) (⚠, slang) be very stupid or completely lacking in skill愚蠢之极；屁都不懂◆Don’t ask him to organize things! He doesn’t know his arse from his elbow! 千万别让他来组织，他一窍不通！●not know ˈbeans about sth (NAmE, informal) know nothing about a subject完全不懂行；对…一窍不通◆I really don’t know beans about economics. 我对经济学真的一窍不通。●not know the first thing aˈbout sb/sthknow nothing at all about sb/sth对…一无所知；对…一窍不通◆I don’t know the first thing about Chinese history. 我对中国历史一窍不通。●not know sb from ˈAdam (informal) not know who sb is根本不认识某人；与某人素不相识◆This man came into the office and he said that he knew me. I didn’t know him from Adam, which was a bit embarrassing. 这个人到办公室来，说他认识我，可我一点都不认识他，真是有点尴尬。●not know the ˈmeaning of the word (disapproving) not have enough experience of sth to understand what it really is; not be capable of really understanding sth不理解；不明白◆Love? He doesn’t know the meaning of the word. 爱情？他才不懂什么叫爱情呢。◆They talk about justice, but they don’t know the meaning of the word. 他们还谈论公正，可是他们根本不明白什么是公正。●not know what ˈhit you (informal) be so surprised by sth that you do not know how to react因吃惊而不知所措；惊呆了◆You should have seen his reaction! He didn’t know what had hit him! 你真该看看他的反应，他简直惊呆了！OPPsee sth coming●not know what you’re ˈmissingnot realize how good, amusing, interesting, etc. sth is because you have never tried it（因从未尝试而）不知道某事有多好◆‘I’m not really interested in snowboarding.’ ‘Oh, you should give it a try. You don’t know what you’re missing.’ “我对单板滑雪不感兴趣。”“你该尝试一下，你不知道滑雪多有趣。”●not know what to ˈdo with yourselfnot know how to spend your time不知如何打发时间◆I hardly know what to do with myself when the children go back to school. I have so much free time. 孩子们回学校后我真不知如何打发时间，我太闲了。●not know whether you’re ˈcoming or ˈgoing (informal) be confused about what you are doing, because you are doing too many things at the same time（因同时要做太多事而）不知该做什么好，理不清头绪◆I’ve got so much work to do that I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. 我有太多的工作要做，都不知该做什么好了。●not know whether to ˈlaugh or ˈcry (informal) be unable to decide how to react to a bad or unfortunate situation哭笑不得◆Can you believe she said that to me? I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry! 你相信她对我说那样的话吗？我真是哭笑不得！●not know which way/where to ˈlook (informal) not know how to react or behave in an embarrassing situation尴尬得不知如何是好；狼狈不堪◆When a half-naked woman walked into the room, nobody knew where to look. 一位半裸的女子走进房间，所有人都尴尬得不知如何是好。●not know which way/where to ˈturnnot know what to do, where to get help, etc. in a difficult situation（在困境中）不知道该怎么做（或向何人求助等）◆She didn’t know where to turn for help when her daughter started taking drugs. 当女儿开始吸毒时，她不知去哪里寻求帮助。●(well) what do you ˈknow (about ˈthat)? (informal) used to express surprise（表示惊讶）你看怪不怪，真没想到◆Well, what do you know? Look who’s here! 哟，真想不到，你看谁来啦！●you ˈknow (informal) 1.used when you are thinking of what to say next（用于考虑接着说什么时）嗯◆He’s, you know, strange. It’s hard to explain. 他，嗯，很奇怪，这很难解释。2.used to show that what you are referring to is known or understood by the person you are speaking to（表示所说的话对方知道或了解）你是知道的，你难道不知道◆You know I bought a new bag? Well, someone stole it last night. 你知道我买了一个新包吧？唉，昨晚被偷了。3.used to emphasize sth that you are saying（用于强调所说的话）你要知道◆I’m not stupid, you know. 你要知道，我不是傻子。●ˌyou know as well as ˈI doused when you are trying to convince sb that sth is true（用于想要说服别人时）我们都很清楚◆You know as well as I do that if she finds out, she’ll stop us going. 我们都很清楚，如果她发现了就会阻止我们去的。●you know ˈwho/ˈwhat (spoken) used to refer to sb/sth without mentioning a name（不说出名称）你知道是谁 / 什么◆I saw you know who this morning. She didn’t even say hello to me. 我今天早上看见那谁了，她甚至没有跟我打招呼。●you never ˈknow (with sb/sth)you cannot be sure (about the behaviour of sb/sth or the quality of sth)很难说；很难预料◆Don’t throw away those old stamps. You never know, they might be valuable one day. 别把那些旧邮票丢掉，说不定哪天它们就值钱了。◆You never know with him; one day he’s smiling and laughing, the next day he won’t speak to anybody. 他的脾气让人捉摸不透，今天他会和颜悦色，明天可能就对谁都不理不睬。●have/know all the ˈanswersbe or seem to be more intelligent or know more than others（似乎）对什么都所知甚详；自命为万事通◆He’s an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个自以为什么都懂的经济学家。●ˌbetter the ˌdevil you ˈknow (than the devil you don’t) (saying) it is better to deal with sb/sth bad, difficult, etc. that is familiar than to make a change and perhaps have to deal with sb/sth worse跟认识的魔鬼打交道总比跟不认识的好（指不要嫌某人／某事物不好，换个新的可能更糟）●not know/not be able to tell ˌone end of sth from the ˈother (informal) know absolutely nothing about sth, for example a machine对（机器等）一无所知◆Don’t ask me to fix the car. I don’t know one end of an engine from the other.别让我来修车，我对发动机一窍不通。●the ˌleft hand doesn’t know what the ˌright hand’s ˈdoing (saying, informal) one part of an organization, a group, etc. does not know what another part is doing左手不知道右手在干什么（指同一组织、团体等的不同分支各自为政，互不通气）◆First I got a letter from them saying they couldn’t return my money, and then the next day they sent me a cheque. Obviously the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand’s doing.我先是接到他们的信，说无法还我钱；但是隔天他们又送来一张支票。很明显，他们内部缺乏沟通。●have/know/get sth off ˈpat (BrE) (NAmEhave/know sth down ˈpat) know or have learned sth so well that you can repeat it at any time了如指掌；对…熟悉得可随口说出◆I’m afraid I haven’t got the answer off pat.恐怕我不能脱口说出答案。◆She has all our names and cellphone numbers down pat.她把我们的名字和电话背得烂熟。●show sb/learn/know the ˈropes (informal) explain to sb/learn/know how to do a particular job, task, etc. correctly指点／学习／掌握诀窍◆It will take me a couple of weeks to learn the ropes but after that I should be fine.我需要几周的时间来摸清门道，然后就没问题了。◆Mrs Brian will show you the ropes.布赖恩太太会告诉你该怎么做。ORIGINThis expression refers to a sailor learning the different ropes for the sails of a ship.这个表达法原指水手学着熟悉船上各种缆绳索具。●I/I’ll ˌtell you ˈwhat●ˌI know ˈwhat (spoken) said before making a suggestion（用于提出建议）我跟你说，我有个主意◆I tell you what — let’s ask Fred to lend us his car.我跟你说，咱们去向弗雷德借车。◆I know what! Why don’t you buy her a CD?我有主意了！你干吗不给她买张 CD 呢？●not want to ˈknow (about sth) (informal) not care about sth; not want to become involved with sth不想知道；不愿理会◆She was in desperate need of help but nobody seemed to want to know.她急需帮助，但是看来没人愿意理会。◆If she wants money, I don’t want to know about it.如果她缺钱，我可不想帮忙。●what is the world ˈcoming to? ( I don’t know ˌwhat the world’s ˈcoming to) (saying) used as an expression of anger, shock, complaint, etc., at changes in people’s behaviour, the political situation, etc.这世界要变成什么样子了；太不像话◆When I read the news these days I sometimes wonder what the world’s coming to.我近来看新闻，有时会纳闷这成了什么世道了。◆Instant tea? What is the world coming to?速溶茶？这是什么怪东西？