knee
Americannoun
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knees
plural
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Anatomy. the joint of the leg that allows for movement between the femur and tibia and is protected by the patella; the central area of the leg between the thigh and the lower leg.
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Zoology. the corresponding joint or region in the hind leg of a quadruped; stifle.
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a joint or region likened to this but not anatomically homologous with it, as the tarsal joint of a bird, the carpal joint in the forelimb of the horse or cow, etc.
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the part of a garment covering the knee.
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something resembling a bent knee, especially a rigid or braced angle between two framing members.
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Also called hip, shoulder. Furniture. the inward curve toward the top of a cabriole leg.
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Building Trades.
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the junction of the top and either of the uprights of a bent.
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a curved member for reinforcing the junction of two pieces meeting at an angle.
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Also called kneeler. a stone cut to follow a sharp return angle.
verb (used with object)
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knees,
present (3rd person singular)
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kneed,
past participle, past
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kneeing
present participle
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to strike or touch with the knee.
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to secure (a structure, as a bent) with a knee.
verb (used without object)
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knees,
present (3rd person singular)
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kneed,
past participle, past
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kneeing
present participle
idioms
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take a knee, to kneel on one knee, usually with the opposite leg also bent at a 90-degree angle and placed forward with the foot on the ground, as in sports or as a posture in protests and demonstrations: Organizers are coordinating so the crowds at every state capitol will take a knee in protest of racial injustice simultaneously, across time zones.
Our soccer team would take a knee if a player on either team was injured.
Organizers are coordinating so the crowds at every state capitol will take a knee in protest of racial injustice simultaneously, across time zones.
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bring someone to his / her knees, to force someone into submission or compliance.
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on one's / its knees,
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in a supplicatory position or manner.
I came to him on my knees for the money.
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in a desperate or declining condition.
The country's economy is on its knees.
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cut (someone) off at the knees, to squelch or humiliate (a person) suddenly and thoroughly.
The speaker cut the heckler off at the knees.
noun
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Technical name: genu. the joint of the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
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the area surrounding and above this joint
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(modifier) reaching or covering the knee
knee breeches
knee socks
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a corresponding or similar part in other vertebrates
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the part of a garment that covers the knee
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the upper surface of a seated person's thigh
the child sat on her mother's knee
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anything resembling a knee in action, such as a device pivoted to allow one member angular movement in relation to another
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anything resembling a knee in shape, such as an angular bend in a pipe
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any of the hollow rounded protuberances that project upwards from the roots of the swamp cypress: thought to aid respiration in waterlogged soil
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to kneel or submit
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to force someone into submission
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to cause something to be in a weakened or impoverished state
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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kneesimple
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kneessimple
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have kneedperfect
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has kneedperfect
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am kneeingprogressive
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are kneeingprogressive
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is kneeingprogressive
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have been kneeingperfect progressive
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has been kneeingperfect progressive
Past
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kneedsimple
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had kneedperfect
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was kneeingprogressive
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were kneeingprogressive
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had been kneeingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of knee
First recorded before 900; Middle English kne, cne, knei, cneo, Old English cnēo(w); cognate with German Knie, Dutch knie, Old Norse knē, Gothic kniu, Latin genu, Greek góny, Sanskrit jānu, Hittite genu, all meaning “knee”
Explanation
Your knee is the joint in your leg that joins your thigh with your shin, making it possible for you to bend your leg. Without knees, you'd walk like a Barbie doll on very stiff legs. The knee connects your tibia, or shinbone, to your femur, or thighbone. Although their bodies are arranged in different ways, there are other animals with knees, including horses, donkeys, giraffes, and deer. You can also use the word knee to mean the part of your pants that covers your actual knee: "I always get a hole in the knee of my jeans." A "knee-slapper" is a joke so funny it makes you laugh out loud.
Vocabulary lists containing 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:
His time at Chelsea, however, was "filled with regret and what might have been" after a chronic knee injury so nearly ended his career before it had properly started.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
Patients with irritable bowel syndrome who took an experimental GLP-1 drug reported relief of acute pain and those with knee osteoarthritis and obesity have less knee pain though that can’t be separated from weight loss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
A left knee injury caused him to miss six weeks early in the season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
In the aftermath of the Rams’ humiliating season-opening defeat in Australia, the team’s defense is dominating the news cycle: edge rusher Myles Garrett’s knee surgery, lineman Aaron Donald’s potential season debut.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
What would your hero do if he cut his knee when he climbed Fire Mountain and now it has red lines and yellow gunk and his head feels hot and cloudy?
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
He climbed back to his knees and tried the code again.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Scrum pressure forced New Zealand replacement Fletcher Newell to his knees, the Springboks punted the resulting penalty into the 22m and a monster maul rumbled infield and forward with Marx crashing over.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
He also knows that the wait has become just as painful as his knees, back, and everything else.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
“I ran an outside go route and I had to stretch out but I got my knees down,” Grant said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
You arch back, that moment of your knees on the bar making your breath catch just like always, but then you’re up, sitting on the bar.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Redick said Doncic was injured when he was kneed by Clippers guard Bagdan Bogdanovic during Saturday night’s loss at Intuit Dome.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025
She said she kneed him after an encounter that lasted several minutes and fled the store.
From Washington Times ● May 8, 2023
The sophomore said she was kneed in the stomach, but she returned to the field about 10 minutes later.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 12, 2022
He was kneed in the head by Leafs forward Jason Spezza in the third period of Sunday’s game.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2021
I was so anxious to get past them I accidentally kneed Kelli in the thigh.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
Brown was cutting back to the ball when he took a bad step and pulled up, leading to James kneeing him in the back.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 25, 2023
They’ll likely recall winger Arthur Kaliyev from the AHL so he can begin serving the last two games of his four-game suspension for a training camp kneeing infraction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2023
The quick start was tempered 86 seconds later when a kneeing penalty by Colorado’s Kurtis MacDermid sent Marcus Foligno to the locker room.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2022
Stars rookie defenseman Jani Hakanpaa was given the major for kneeing and a game misconduct.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 22, 2021
I all but pounced onto Chubs’s back, both scaring him senseless and kneeing him in the kidney in the process.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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.
