knee

noun, often attributive

\ ˈnē

Definition of knee

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a joint in the middle part of the human leg that is the articulation between the femur, tibia, and patella also : the part of the leg that includes this joint

b(1) : the joint in the hind leg of a four-footed vertebrate that corresponds to the human knee

(2) : the carpal joint of the foreleg of a four-footed vertebrate

c : the tarsal joint of a bird

d : the joint between the femur and tibia of an insect

2 : something resembling the human knee: such as

a : a piece of timber naturally or artificially bent for use in supporting structures coming together at an angle (such as the deck beams of a ship)

b : a rounded or conical process rising from the roots of various swamp-growing trees cypress knee

3 : the part of a garment covering the knee

4 : a blow with the bent knee

to one's knees

: into a state of submission or defeat

knee

verb

kneed; kneeing

Definition of knee (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to strike with the knee

2 archaic : to bend the knee to

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Examples of knee in a Sentence

Noun

I fell down and hurt my knee. She suffered a serious knee injury. His knees trembled with fear. He got down on one knee and proposed to her. His little granddaughter sat on his knee. Her jeans had holes at the knees.

Verb

His attacker kneed him in the stomach.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

My husband has even gotten into it, using it on his eczema-prone elbows and knees. — Rachel Rothman, Good Housekeeping, "Aquaphor Is the Drugstore Cure-All You Never Knew You Needed," 8 Mar. 2019 Across all lines, the softening of a callused heart makes the knees grow weak. — Lily Burana, Marie Claire, "Where Are Our Queer Rom-Coms?," 15 Feb. 2019 Its ability on-track was surprising, especially since most mainstream products would buckle at the knees when faced with VIR. — Car and Driver, "Lightning Lap 2018: Where the Track Tells the Truth," 26 Sep. 2018 Kerber would bend real low, even putting a knee right on the grass to get a ball back. — Howard Fendrich, BostonGlobe.com, "Angelique Kerber outplays Serena Williams, wins her first Wimbledon title," 14 July 2018 Put your right hand at your right ankle and your left hand at the inside of the right knee — elbows wide, shoulders down. — Mike Candelaria, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Got 5 minutes? You have time to exercise," 11 July 2018 Latency has long been the arrow to the knee for would-be streaming services, but GeForce Now plays surprisingly smoothly in our experience. — Brad Chacos, PCWorld, "Nvidia Shield TV levels up to full-featured PC gaming with free GeForce Now beta," 11 July 2018 Back with the team for the first time since tearing a knee ligament in May 2017, Andrew Toles provided a two-run double and raced home for another run in a five-run blitz. — Andy Mccullough, latimes.com, "Kershaw continues to make progress on the mound in Dodgers' 8-2 win over the Padres," 10 July 2018 Well With Freaky Accents This season's girl has enough to worry about, what with having to put her tears on and lenses in on top of stacking a dizzying array of elaborate masks, chokers, ear cuffs, and knee pads. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "What the Gucci Runway Just Taught Us About Beauty at Milan Fashion Week," 20 Feb. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Mesa Police Department The Mesa Police Department released additional video Wednesday that provides greater insight into what led police officers to punch and knee an unarmed man late last month. — Uriel J. Garcia, azcentral, "Mesa police release body camera footage of officers throwing punches at unarmed man," 6 June 2018 While the original Cary dress worn by the model features much more extreme thigh-high slits, Meghan’s own piece has clearly been adjusted to knee heigh—probably to adhere to royal protocol and expectations, and to avoid any annoying eyebrow-raises. — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "How Meghan Markle Altered Her Veronica Beard Shirt Dress so it Would Adhere to Royal Protocol," 26 Oct. 2018 The Cyclones also committed just eight turnovers against the league's leader in turnover margin despite missing point guard Nick Weiler-Babb to knee tendinitis. — USA TODAY, "Iowa State rolls past No. 15 West Virginia 93-77," 31 Jan. 2018 The department was already reeling after surveillance footage emerged of officers punching and kneeing an unarmed man in a May 23 arrest. — Ray Sanchez And Keith Allen, CNN, "Mesa, Arizona, police video shows officers punch, mock suspect," 14 June 2018 Officer Bojan Samardzic reportedly pulled out his pistol, which was followed by another officer grabbing Brown’s left arm and still another kneeing Brown in the groin. — Michael Mccann, SI.com, "Inside Sterling Brown’s compelling lawsuit against the Milwaukee Police Department and City of Milwaukee," 19 June 2018 Johnson's case received national attention after video showed officers kneeing and punching him multiple times before bringing him to the ground. — Uriel J. Garcia, azcentral, "Charges dropped against Robert Johnson, man brutally beaten by Mesa police," 14 June 2018 Mesa officers punch, knee man The Mesa Police Department released a video on June 5 showing an officer repeatedly punching and kneeing a man before he is pulled to the ground while other officers surround him. — Arizona Republic, azcentral, "These 6 body-cam videos have put Mesa police in national spotlight," 15 June 2018 Surveillance video also shows an officer kneeing him in the stomach. — CBS News, "Newly released bodycam videos show moments before Mesa officers beat unarmed man," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'knee.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.