Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense knees, present participle kneeing, past tense, past participle kneed
1. countable noun [oft poss NOUN]
Your knee is the place where your leg bends.
He will receive physiotherapy on his damaged left knee.
...a knee injury.
2. countable noun [oft onNOUN]
If something or someone is on your knee or on your knees, they are resting or sitting on the upper part of your legs when you are sitting down.
He sat with the package on his knees.
I sat in the back of the taxi with my son on my knee.
3. countable noun
The knee on a piece of clothing is the part that covers your knee.
...jeans with holes at both knees.
4. plural noun [usu on/toN]
If you are on your knees, your legs are bent and your knees are on the ground.
She fell to the ground on her knees and prayed.
She was on her knees in the kitchen.
5. verb
If you knee someone, you hit them using your knee.
Ian kneed him in the groin. [VERB noun]
6.
See bring to its knees
knee in British English
(niː)
noun
1.
the joint of the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
Technical name: genu ▶ Related adjective: genicular
2.
a.
the area surrounding and above this joint
b. (modifier)
reaching or covering the knee
knee breeches
knee socks
3.
a corresponding or similar part in other vertebrates
4.
the part of a garment that covers the knee
5.
the upper surface of a seated person's thigh
the child sat on her mother's knee
6.
anything resembling a knee in action, such as a device pivoted to allow one member angular movement in relation to another
7.
anything resembling a knee in shape, such as an angular bend in a pipe
8.
any of the hollow rounded protuberances that project upwards from the roots of the swamp cypress: thought to aid respiration in waterlogged soil
9. bend the knee
10. bring someone to his or her knees
11. bring something to its knees
12. take a knee
verbWord forms: knees, kneeing or kneed
13. (transitive)
to strike, nudge, or push with the knee
Word origin
Old English cnēow; compare Old High German kneo, Old Norse knē, Latin genu
knee in American English
(ni)
noun
1.
a.
the joint between the thigh and the lower part of the human leg
b.
the front part of the leg at this joint
2.
a joint regarded as corresponding or similar to the human knee, as a joint in the leg of a quadruped or bird
3.
anything resembling or suggesting a knee, esp. a bent knee
; specif.,
a.
a bent piece of wood used as a brace
b.
a protuberant, woody growth on certain trees
4.
the part of a stocking, trouser leg, etc. that covers the knee
verb transitiveWord forms: kneed or ˈkneeing
5.
to hit or touch with the knee
6. Carpentry
to fasten with a knee (sense 3) knee (sense 3a) or knees
Idioms:
bring to one's knees
Word origin
ME kne < OE cneow, akin to Ger knie < IE base *ĝeneu- > Sans jnu, Gr gony, gonia, L genu, a knee
COBUILD Collocations
knee
dodgy knee
Examples of 'knee' in a sentence
knee
Lie on your back with your knees to the chest and head off the floor.
The Sun (2017)
Push your hips back and bend your knees until you are as low as you can go.
The Sun (2016)
Do not allow the front knee to pass over your toes.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
She has needed two ankle operations and suffered a knee injury.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Rest on your right elbow positioned under your shoulder and lift your hips and knees off the floor.
The Sun (2016)
Hundreds of thousands of patients who would stay overnight for procedures such as hip ops and knee replacements face delays.
The Sun (2016)
They found that the knees and ankles of the top 100m sprinters were the most symmetrical.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Lift your left foot off the floor and bend at the knee, bringing it under the body to reach towards your right arm.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The petrol was flowing over my left leg, but I managed to put my left knee over the hole in the petrol tank.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
His damaged knee is badly swollen and he is unable to bend it fully.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Losing excess body weight is more likely to help improve hip and knee joint health.
The Sun (2015)
One officer hurt his leg and knee and the other his shoulder.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Step forwards with your left leg about two feet and lower your right knee to the ground.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The goal is not to touch your knees on the floor.
The Sun (2013)
Still the saint refused to bow the knee.
Christianity Today (2000)
Now extend your right arm as far as it will go while bringing your left knee in.
The Sun (2013)
Sit down a little so the right knee bends more.
The Sun (2014)
Do not allow the front knee to pass over your toes.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Like shuttles they shot straight through the building at knee or ankle height.
Hyland, Paul Indian Balm - Travels in the Southern Subcontinent (1994)
The striker is nursing a knee injury and may have to go under the knife.
The Sun (2015)
He puts his hand on my knee.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
They knee your groin with switches of play.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Bend right knee and lower left hand toward right foot.
The Sun (2006)
He was an early pioneer and became an expert in hip and knee replacement.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
To make matters worse a stewardess rammed his damaged knee with her drinks cart on the flight back.
The Sun (2010)
In other languages
knee
British English: knee /niː/ NOUN
Your knee is the place where your leg bends.
The snow was up to his knees.
American English: knee
Arabic: رُكْبَةٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: joelho
Chinese: 膝盖
Croatian: koljeno
Czech: koleno
Danish: knæ
Dutch: knie
European Spanish: rodilla
Finnish: polvi
French: genou
German: Knie
Greek: γόνατο
Italian: ginocchio
Japanese: ひざ
Korean: 무릎
Norwegian: kne
Polish: kolano
European Portuguese: joelho
Romanian: genunchi
Russian: колено
Latin American Spanish: rodilla
Swedish: knä
Thai: เข่า
Turkish: diz
Ukrainian: коліно
Vietnamese: đầu gối
British English: knee VERB
If you knee someone, you hit them using your knee.
Ian kneed him in the groin.
American English: knee
Brazilian Portuguese: desferir uma joelhada
Chinese: 用膝盖撞击
European Spanish: dar un rodillazo
French: donner un coup de genou à
German: mit dem Knie stoßen
Italian: dare una ginocchiata a
Japanese: ひざげりを食わす
Korean: 무릎으로 치다
European Portuguese: desferir uma joelhada
Latin American Spanish: dar un rodillazo
All related terms of 'knee'
knee-bend
a type of exercise in which the knees are bent in order to strengthen the leg muscles and to make the knees more supple
knee-deep
Something that is knee-deep is as high as your knees.
knee drop
a wrestling attack in which a wrestler lifts his or her opponent and drops him or her onto his or her bent knee
knee-high
Something that is knee-high is as tall or high as an adult's knees.
knee jerk
If you call someone's response to a question or situation a knee-jerk reaction , you mean that they react in a very predictable way, without thinking .
knee-sock
a type of sock that comes up to the knee
dodgy knee
Your knee is the place where your leg bends.
knee joint
the joint of the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
knee-length
reaching to the knee
knee pants
trousers worn by men in the past , which came down as far as their knees rather than their ankles
knee reflex
an outward reflex kick of the lower leg caused by a sharp tap on the quadriceps tendon just below the patella
knee spavin
chronic inflammation of the carpal joint of a horse
knock-knee
a condition in which the legs are bent inwards causing the knees to touch when standing
thick-knee
any of several brownish shore birds of the family Burhinidae, esp Burhinus oedicnemus, having a large head and eyes : order Charadriiformes
knee breeches
trousers worn by men in the past, which came down as far as their knees rather than their ankles
knee-capping
Knee-capping is the act of shooting someone in the knee and is carried out by some terrorist organizations as a form of punishment .
knee-slapper
a very funny joke, anecdote , etc.
knee operation
When a patient has an operation , a surgeon cuts open their body in order to remove, replace , or repair a diseased or damaged part.
knee-trembling
very exciting
take a knee
to place one's knee against the ground as a way of stopping play
bend the knee
to kneel or submit
housemaid's knee
inflammation and swelling of the bursa in front of the kneecap , caused esp by constant kneeling on a hard surface
on bended knee
If you ask someone for something on bended knee , you ask them very seriously for it.
kneecap
Your kneecaps are the bones at the front of your knees .
knee-jerk reaction
Your reaction to something that has happened or something that you have experienced is what you feel , say , or do because of it.
beg on bended knee
to ask someone for something very seriously
water on the knee
an accumulation of fluid in the knee cavity caused by inflammation and trauma to the cartilages or membranes of the knee joint
knee-high to a grasshopper
very young
Chinese translation of 'knee'
knee
(niː)
n(c)
膝盖(蓋) (xīgài) (个(個), gè)
vt
用膝盖(蓋)撞击(擊) (yòng xīgài zhuàngjī)
to bring sb to his/her knees迫使某人屈服 (pòshǐ mǒurén qūfú)
(to sit/be) on sb's knee(坐)在某人的膝上 ((zuò) zài mǒurén de xī shang)