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Synonyms

kneel

American  
[neel] / nil /

verb (used without object)

knelt, kneeled, kneeling

  1. to go down or rest on the knees or a knee.

noun

  1. the action or position of kneeling.

kneel British  
/ niːl /

verb

  1. (intr) to rest, fall, or support oneself on one's knees

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. the act or position of kneeling

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • kneeler noun
  • kneelingly adverb
  • unkneeling adjective

Etymology

Origin of kneel

First recorded before 1000; Middle English knelen, Old English cnēowlian (cognate with Low German knelen, Dutch knielen ). See knee, -le

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.

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

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

He would kneel down on the pavement and look them in the eye, ferry them to appointments, visit them in hospitals, work tirelessly to earn their trust and try to get them into housing.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2025

Businessmen from all over Europe would choose your port to set out from if they knew they could kneel at the altar of this champion of mariners.

From Slate • Dec. 15, 2024

King asked everyone to kneel, and 1,500 marchers in a line stretching back almost a mile sank to their knees.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman

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.