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

• kneader noun
• kneadable adjective
• kneadability 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

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

Workers don't like to wake up early to knead dough by hand, Mr Hur says softly.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• massage 
• rub