idiom · neutral
go under the knife
UK/ɡəʊ ˌʌn.də ðə ˈnaɪf/US/ɡoʊ ˌʌn.dɚ ðə ˈnaɪf/GO·un·der·the·KNIFE
speakingtask2
to have surgery
Examples
“He had to go under the knife to remove the tumour.”
“She went under the knife last year for a minor operation.”
“Many people are nervous about going under the knife.”
Band 8 sentence
“After consulting with specialists, he decided to go under the knife to correct the issue and has since recovered well.”
Collocations
- go under the knife for
- have to/go under the knife
Word family
go under the knife verb phrasego under surgery incorrect colloquial form
Common mistakes
go under knife→go under the knife
go under surgery→have surgery / go under the knife
Say it for a higher band
5have surgery→6get an operation→7+go under the knife
Synonyms
have surgery
undergo an operation
Easily confused
have surgery
“She had surgery last month to repair her knee.”
Related words
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In Health
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