knead

[need]

verb (used with object)

1. to work (dough, clay, etc.) into a uniform mixture by pressing, folding, and stretching.

2. to manipulate by similar movements, as the body in a massage.

3. to make by kneading.

   to knead bread.

4. to make kneading movements with.

   She kneaded her fist into her palm.

knead

/ niːd /

verb

1. to work and press (a soft substance, such as bread dough) into a uniform mixture with the hands

2. to squeeze, massage, or press with the hands

3. to make by kneading

Other Word Forms

• kneadable adjective
• kneadability noun
• kneader noun
• kneadingly adverb
• reknead verb (used with object)
• unkneaded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of knead¹

before 950; Middle English kneden, Old English cnedan; cognate with German kneten, Dutch kneden

Word History and Origins

Origin of knead¹

Old English cnedan; related to Old Saxon knedan, Old Norse knotha

Example Sentences

This uneven motion effectively kneads the molten rock and helps generate bubbles.

Read more on Science Daily

While the crossings remain closed, life has regained a semblance of normality, with bakers kneading bread, fruit and vegetable sellers wheeling out their carts, and customers frequenting shops.

Read more on Barron's

It gives a glimpse of the film's heightened and highly stylised gothic approach, and is full of pent-up tension, shots of bread being suggestively kneaded, and a finger being put into a fish's mouth.

Read more on BBC

The trailer includes a topless Elordi toiling outdoors, bread being suggestively kneaded and broken eggs being handled.

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In a world that often feels bleak, and where domestic pleasures are increasingly dismissed as “trad-wifery,” it’s heartening to see one of the most powerful women in the world kneading a rainbow-speckled funfetti loaf.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• massage 
• rub