Knockabout \Knock"a*bout`\, n.

1. (Naut.) A small yacht, generally from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, having a mainsail and a jib. All knockabouts have ballast and either a keel or centerboard. The original type was twenty-one feet in length. The next larger type is called a raceabout.

2. A knockabout performer or performance. [Theat. Slang]

3. A man hired on a sheep station to do odd jobs. [Colloq., Australia]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Knockabout \Knock"a*bout`\, a.

1. Marked by knocking about or roughness.

2. Of noisy and violent character. [Theat. Slang]

3. Characterized by, or suitable for, knocking about, or traveling or wandering hither and thither.

4. That does odd jobs; -- said of a class of hands or laborers on a sheep station. [Collog., Australia]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)