to knock the wind out of somebody
[knock|take] the wind out of {one's} sailsto knock the wind out of somebody
01
to do something, particularly something others do not expect, in order to make them feel less confident or important
![to [knock] the (wind|breath|stuffing) out of {sb} definition and meaning](https://cdn.langeek.co/photo/42676/original/?type=jpeg "to [knock] the (wind|breath|stuffing) out of {sb} definition and meaning")
Disapproving
Idiom
Informal
Exempel
The unexpected news of the company's bankruptcy announcement knocked the breath out of the employees, who had never seen it coming.
