knackered

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 26, 2026 is: knackered \NAK-erd\ adjective Knackered is an adjective mostly used informally in British English to mean “very tired or exhausted.” // Unfortunately, I was too knackered after work to join them for dinner. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knackered) Examples: “‘How are you doing?’ ‘Yeah, good thanks... just tired.’ I don’t know about you, but it feels like I’m having a version of this exchange at least once a day. It seems that everyone I know is genuinely and profoundly knackered. My friends say it. My postman says it. My teenage son says it. Even my partner, who usually has the energy levels of a Duracell-powered soft toy, grudgingly admits his batteries are drained.” — Sara Robinson, The Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales), 22 Nov. 2025 Did you know? An apt synonym for knackered might be the phrase “[dead](https://bit.ly/4aCF0ub) tired” for more than one reason. Knackered is a 20th century coinage that comes from the past participle of knacker, a slang term meaning “to kill,” as well as “to tire, exhaust, or wear out.” This verb knacker likely comes from an older noun [knacker](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/knacker), which first referred to a harness-maker or saddlemaker, and later to a buyer of animals no longer able to do farmwork (or their carcasses). Knackered is used on both sides of the Atlantic but is more common among British speakers.