knelt
ˈnelt 
or kneeled; kneeling
or kneeled; kneeling
: to position the body so that one or both knees rest on the floor
The prisoners were ordered to kneel.
: to fall or rest on the knees
She kneeled on the floor next to the child.
Examples of kneel in a Sentence
She was kneeling on the floor beside her child.
He was kneeling in front of the altar and praying.
Recent Examples on the Web
In Kyiv this week, two wooden caskets bearing soldiers’ bodies were brought to Independence Square — the heart of Ukraine’s 2014 pro-democracy protests — in a solemn parade, with mourners kneeling at their passing.
—
Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Manrique knelt on a toilet in a dark bathroom stall, huddled silently next to her two colleagues.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2024
Rankine, who arrived after Ellis was already handcuffed face-down, knelt on his upper back.
—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024
And the Republican Party, or what once was the Republican Party, continues to kneel on the ground and throw dirt over itself.
—Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024
Little Rani kneeled next to her and peered toward the camera, her bright blue nail paint just visible in the shot.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024
Moments after the two shook hands and exchanged words, Gauff knelt down on one knee, braced herself with her racket, and prayed.
—Abby Aguirre, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024
In bystander video posted to social media, four sheriff’s deputies can be seen kneeling on top of a man who is lying face down on the gravel outside a car.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Images of him kneeling on the floor, in a suit and a surgical mask, picking up empty water bottles and scraps of paper, went viral and came to encapsulate everything Trumpism was not.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024
Manrique knelt on a toilet in a dark bathroom stall, huddled silently next to her two colleagues.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 12 Apr. 2024
Rankine, who arrived after Ellis was already handcuffed face-down, knelt on his upper back.
—CBS News, 4 Apr. 2024
And the Republican Party, or what once was the Republican Party, continues to kneel on the ground and throw dirt over itself.
—Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 2 Apr. 2024
Little Rani kneeled next to her and peered toward the camera, her bright blue nail paint just visible in the shot.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 30 Mar. 2024
Moments after the two shook hands and exchanged words, Gauff knelt down on one knee, braced herself with her racket, and prayed.
—Abby Aguirre, Vogue, 6 Mar. 2024
In bystander video posted to social media, four sheriff’s deputies can be seen kneeling on top of a man who is lying face down on the gravel outside a car.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024
Images of him kneeling on the floor, in a suit and a surgical mask, picking up empty water bottles and scraps of paper, went viral and came to encapsulate everything Trumpism was not.
—E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kneel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near kneel
Cite this Entry
“Kneel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kneel. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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