kneecap

1 of 2

noun

knee·​cap ˈnē-ˌkap 

plural kneecaps

: a thick flat triangular movable bone that forms the anterior point of the knee and protects the front of the joint : patella

… [Richard] Steadman did arthroscopic surgery on both knees, taking out cartilage, and adjusting synovial plica, the bands of thickened tissue that line the joint behind the kneecaps …

—William Oscar Johnson

Many people who play basketball, volleyball, or soccer are all too familiar with patellar tendinitis, an inflammation of the large tendon connecting the kneecap to the upper tibia.

—Andrew Weil

The stifle joint of a horse corresponds to the human knee. It has a patella, or kneecap, at the front of the joint.

—Robert M. Miller

kneecap

2 of 2

verb

kneecapped; kneecapping; kneecaps

transitive verb

: to shoot or otherwise maim or disable the knee of (someone)

He was shot in both knees, deliberately maimed—"kneecapped," in local parlance.

—Francis X. Clines

… punishing petty crooks and unruly juveniles by kneecapping them, sometimes with bullets, sometimes with a … power drill. The degree of crippling one receives is supposed to be a reflection of the gravity of one's crime.

—Bill Barich

—often used figuratively

… hearing from people who grasp their brows in dire concern over whether the President is now too damaged to carry on—this from people who have been doing their … best to kneecap the man for years.

—Molly Ivins

This 66-yard scoring drive Smith engineered late in the first half … basically kneecapped the home team.

—Austin Murphy

The decision to liquidate $25 million worth of the band's Live Nation stock last year nearly kneecapped the company …

—Steve Kandell

Examples of kneecap in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

To mate, the female spiders shoot hundreds of eggs from their kneecaps, which the male spiders collect into saclike bundles looped around their legs like bracelets, the study found. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 18 June 2025

The man suffered a shattered kneecap and broken femur, KSL reported. —Escher Walcott, People.com, 3 June 2025

Verb

For days, a small but critical faction of the Senate GOP conference had been raising major flags about the way this cut to states' Medicaid revenue might kneecap rural hospitals in their states. —Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 26 June 2025

Outages caused by the hostile weather could further kneecap Africa’s biggest economy: Manufacturing output declined more than 6% in April compared to the same month in 2024, a steep drop that followed a 1.2% fall in March, Reuters reported. —Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 12 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1833, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1974, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for kneecap

• bandgap
• bitmap
• blackcap
• blackstrap
• bootstrap
• burlap
• claptrap
• entrap
• foolscap
• kidnap
• madcap
• mayhap

Kids Definition

kneecap

noun

knee·​cap ˈnē-ˌkap 

: a thick flat movable bone forming the front part of the knee

called also patella

Medical Definition

kneecap

noun

knee·​cap ˈnē-ˌkap 

: patella