knocker-upper

noun

.

“What, Shelley is pregnant?! Who's the knocker-upper? [ = Who's the father?]”

Similar
sirefatherdaddaddybaby daddy
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Meanings

nounknocker-upper (plural knocker-uppers)

plural knocker-uppers

  1. alternativeAlternative form of knocker-up (person who knocks to awaken in the morning).

    In 1876, a knocker-upper on rounds in Bradford spotted a 2 a.m. house fire and saved a sleeping family.

    2026 March 13, Ellsworth Toohey, “The long history of waking people up before alarm clocks”, in BoingBoing, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2026
  2. a tool to hammer the top head of a cask into place through the bung hole.
  3. humorousinformalThe male who has sired a pregnancy.

    What, Shelley is pregnant?! Who's the knocker-upper? [ = Who's the father?]

    Synonyms: sire, father, dad, daddy, baby daddy

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe male who has sired a pregnancy.

Similar
sirefatherdaddaddybaby daddy
Also see
devil's tail

Origin

By a regular pattern for (informal) nouns seen also in similar forms, such as fixer-upper and cleaner-upper; the sire sense involves an extra degree of wordplay, as an alternative surface analysis of knock (h)er up + -er is playfully apparent (who knocked 'er up?).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French engrosseur
  • engrosseurmale who has sired a pregnancy
Cite this entry
APA

knocker-upper. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knocker-upper

MLA

“knocker-upper.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knocker-upper. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knocker-upper,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knocker-upper.

Source: knocker-upper on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.