kneecap
Americanverb (used with object)
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kneecaps,
present (3rd person singular)
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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:
He did not say whether he believed his previous kneecap condition — Ohtani underwent surgery in 2019 to address the bipartite patella in his left knee — was connected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Savitt, an OpenAI lawyer, said the lawsuit was motivated by Musk seeking to kneecap a "competitor".
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 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
“Jack!” my mom called, and reached forward to poke my kneecap.
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
It also kneecaps much of the NLRB’s work.
From Slate ● Jan. 29, 2025
Early last year, Leno crashed his motorcycle and wound up with a broken collarbone, two broken ribs and two cracked kneecaps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2024
The Fed is trying to pull of the difficult feat of slowing the economy enough through high interest rates to stifle high inflation but not so much that it kneecaps the job market.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2024
But some runners showed symptoms of new, if slight, damage in the bones and cartilage right around their kneecaps, a part of the joint that absorbs much of the pounding from running.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 19, 2022
I put my head against my knees, pressing my eyes right into my kneecaps.
From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin
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
“We should not be kneecapping America’s largest source of renewable power,” he said, “especially when we need more cheap, homegrown electricity.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 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
“You’re always walking a fine line between controlling too much and too little. If you control too much, then you’re kneecapping your own guys — their ability to invest in new technologies.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2022
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.
