kneecap
Americanverb (used with object)
-
kneecaps,
present (3rd person singular)
-
kneecapped,
past participle, past
-
kneecapping
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
kneecapsimple
-
kneecapssimple
-
have kneecappedperfect
-
has kneecappedperfect
-
am kneecappingprogressive
-
are kneecappingprogressive
-
is kneecappingprogressive
-
have been kneecappingperfect progressive
-
has been kneecappingperfect progressive
Past
-
kneecappedsimple
-
had kneecappedperfect
-
was kneecappingprogressive
-
were kneecappingprogressive
-
had been kneecappingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of kneecap
Explanation
Your kneecap is the bony plate that covers the joint in the middle of your leg, between your thigh and shin. Whales don't have kneecaps, but it might surprise you to know that mice and birds do. The kneecap is just what it sounds like, a protective cap for your vulnerable knee. While the official anatomical term is patella, it's far more common to call this body part a kneecap. When babies are small, their kneecaps are made of soft cartilage, but by the time they're about three they harden into strong bone. If you're a fan of Mafia movies, you might also recognize the verb kneecap, "to shoot someone in the knee."
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:
Stylist Clare Chambers agrees shorts should sit around the kneecap for both men and women.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Late Friday, an Iranian official detailed Khamenei’s injuries for the first time, saying his kneecap and back had been wounded in the strike that killed his father.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026
Few if any government spokespeople have done more to kneecap their own agency in court than McLaughlin.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2026
Hill suffered torn ligaments and a dislocated kneecap in a game against the New York Jets last year, ending his season.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Francis, sitting in his chair by the window with an ankle balanced upon the opposite kneecap and his teacup balanced on his bare ankle, was looking at Charles rather narrowly.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Detroit coach Dan Campbell — who famously declared during his introductory press conference in 2021 that his team would bite off opponents’ kneecaps — told reporters that Branch’s actions were unacceptable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland told the BBC at the time that it "kneecaps" the county’s efforts to achieve their "net zero" target - the goal of no longer adding to carbon emissions by 2050.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2024
Many of the lesions and tears that had begun shrinking during training were smaller and the fresh damage seen around some kneecaps had largely dissipated, with few remaining signs of lesions and tears.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 19, 2022
When the Lions hired Campbell nearly a year ago, he was perhaps as fired up as any coach could be at an introductory news conference as he talked about kicking teeth and biting kneecaps.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 10, 2022
He has medals hanging from his shoulders to his kneecaps.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
For weeks, automakers and suppliers have publicly sounded an optimistic tone, pointing to the industry’s lessons from a semiconductor crisis a few years ago that kneecapped production around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
In the decade and a half before the GCA kneecapped his war-surplus business, Cummings imported some 5 million firearms for distribution on the U.S. consumer market.
From Slate ● May 25, 2025
But her production lines were being constantly kneecapped by the start-stop of the grid.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2025
In other words, the Trojans were one of several elite teams in the Pac-12 era kneecapped by inane conference scheduling policies.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 2, 2023
The Delta wave kneecapped any sense that COVID-19 was behind us.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2021
Fable comes with broad restrictions Anthropic says are aimed at kneecapping its ability to assist users with potentially dangerous activities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
"We should not be kneecapping America's largest source of renewable power, especially when we need more cheap, homegrown electricity," the Environmental Defense Fund's lead counsel Ted Kelly said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025
To make matters worse, the photo resulted in Griffin being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Secret Service, landing her on the no-fly list and kneecapping any remaining prospects of live standup work.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2024
The most obvious proof of “Folie à Deux” misunderstanding the musical is the odd decision to cut the majority of these sequences short, kneecapping decades-old compositions before their emotional and musical resolutions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2024
Asked on Friday whether the White House is still interested in kneecapping the FCPA, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow confirmed that the administration is “looking at it.”
From Washington Post ● Jan. 20, 2020
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.
