kneel
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
kneelsimple
-
kneelssimple
-
have kneeledperfect
-
have kneltperfect
-
has kneeledperfect
-
has kneltperfect
-
am kneelingprogressive
-
are kneelingprogressive
-
is kneelingprogressive
-
have been kneelingperfect progressive
-
has been kneelingperfect progressive
Past
-
kneeledsimple
-
kneltsimple
-
had kneeledperfect
-
had kneltperfect
-
was kneelingprogressive
-
were kneelingprogressive
-
had been kneelingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of kneel
First recorded before 1000; Middle English knelen, Old English cnēowlian (cognate with Low German knelen, Dutch knielen ). See knee, -le
Explanation
When you kneel, you rest your bent knees on the ground. People kneel to pray, to work in the garden, and to do yoga. Kids often kneel on the living room rug to play, and adults kneel to tie a child's shoelaces, to vacuum under the sofa, to play with a puppy, to exercise, and for many other reasons. A great thing about the word kneel is that its meaning is easy to see — the word knee is obvious when you look at it. The Old English root word, cnēowlian, simply means kneel, and it comes from cnēow, or "knee."
Vocabulary lists containing kneel
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"Encounter"
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Words with Two Past-Tense Forms That Creeped (or Crept) into English
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
With only 18 seconds left after that game-tying score, the Rams opted to kneel and send the game to overtime.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026
Dr Baksheiev and his team would have to use anything available as an examination table, including old sofas, meaning he would have to kneel on the floor to conduct examinations.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2025
It’s kind of like Ramses in the movie “The Ten Commandments” when he says, “Command them to kneel before Pharaoh.”
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2025
“Oohs” rippled through the class as students began to kneel down in position to begin the choreography.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2025
I cross the room and kneel beside her.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Seeing all this, a woman kneels and cries out between sobs.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
"He used to fight with me, but he also loved me," 10-year-old Asma says as she kneels at her younger brother's graveside.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
Afterward, the individual moves into the home’s front yard, kneels on the ground and tries to pick up the cat, which the post said is named Piper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
Yancey kneels in a pasture already eaten down by the cows and grabs a bunch of fescue, showing how it’s been chewed back.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 18, 2023
Marcus kneels and draws his sword, offering it up to the Augur, his eyes glinting with a strangely exultant zeal, as if he’s already been named Emperor.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
On Tuesday in Glen Allen, onlookers kneeled and offered fruit, police officers shook the monks' hands, and the monks presented people with blessing threads and other gifts.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
South Florida's NBC6 reports the men kneeled, clapped their hands together, and waved their shirts at the passing helicopter.
From Salon ● Jun. 5, 2025
Before chairs with a back and arm rests debuted as a status symbol among ancient Egyptians about 5,000 years ago, he says that humans mostly kneeled or squatted for about 2 million years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2025
In the potato-chip aisle, a woman kneeled on the floor, diligently unpacking boxes, filling the shelves with chips, then reversing the process and repeating it several times over.
From Slate ● Dec. 4, 2024
I kneeled and picked one from the dirt.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Thailand's foreign ministry denied Thursday that French President Emmanuel Macron knelt before the country's king during his state visit to Paris this week, after an AI-generated picture circulated online.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
After a young woman knelt down and reached her hand into the pool Monday, she was quickly approached by a National Park Service official.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
She knelt in front of the first officer she saw, told him she’d fled the colectivos, and pleaded for a chance to seek asylum.
From Slate ● Jan. 15, 2026
Twelve fired FBI agents are alleging that they were unlawfully sacked because they knelt during a racial justice protest in Washington DC five years ago.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2025
Wishing she could share his confidence, Renn knelt and fumbled in her pack for a salmon cake to give to Wolf.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
There were also no images of Macron kneeling before the king in official photographs published by Thailand's foreign ministry of the leaders at the decoration ceremony and state dinner, an AFP review found.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
I was kneeling over a bath, washing it in a hotel room one Saturday evening, getting ready for my friend's 40th birthday celebration.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
A small enclosure was erected as artisan Gianluca Galli began the restoration - kneeling before the mosaic as he cut new pieces of stone by hand.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
That same year, he and his deputies were photographed kneeling and speaking with protesters in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, an action he has since recast as praying.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
“That devil Lincoln is soon to be riding the train through Baltimore,” began the baby-faced rogue who was kneeling on my costume.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
