weak-kneed
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of weak-kneed
First recorded in 1860–65
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.
Then there are my people, weak-kneed types who, come winter, wonder whether they can survive yet another cold snap.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Wish You Were Dead is about a relationship that veers between being affectionate and volatile; while in Big Brown Eyes, Young gets weak-kneed when a lukewarm love interest insults her.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2025
ByteDance stared it down, though, and bet that U.S. policymakers would get weak-kneed if the ban were actually about to go into effect.
From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2025
Barnum-style marketing hype and the weak-kneed safety regulators who seem not to care.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2022
“Who is it?” said Madam Hooch, who had sunk, weak-kneed, into a chair.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
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.
