technical knockout


noun Boxing.

the termination of a bout by the referee when it is the judgment of the attending physician, a boxer's seconds, or the referee that a boxer cannot continue fighting without sustaining severe or disabling injury. Abbreviation: TKO, T.K.O.

Origin of technical knockout

First recorded in 1945–50

British Dictionary definitions for technical knockout

technical knockout

noun

boxing a judgment of a knockout given when a boxer is in the referee's opinion too badly beaten to continue without risk of serious injury