on bended knee

idiom

: in a kneeling position : in the position of someone who is kneeling on one knee
He proposed to her on bended knee.
sometimes used figuratively to indicate supplication
He was forced to ask for their help on bended knee.

Examples of on bended knee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The second photo shows Booker popping the question on bended knee. Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025 Biden’s emissaries have fanned out on bended knee to apologize for his support for Israel. Jeff Robbins, Orange County Register, 15 Feb. 2024 And yet the earth is blunder and obtuseness— no swaying it, even on bended knee: its rotting flute gives sharpness to the hearing, its morning clarinet harrows the ear. Merve Emre, The New York Review of Books, 13 Feb. 2024 The price of eggs has risen 40% in a year, prompting complaints on social media and one meme in which a man on bended knee offers his beloved a box of eggs instead of a ring. Tim Lister, CNN, 29 Jan. 2024 With dad still on bended knee, and mom gasping in excitement, the smiling toddler inched closer and closer to the camera. Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 10 Jan. 2024 In Thank You for Your Servitude, which for my money is the only truly interesting book about the Trump presidency, author Mark Leibovich goes into harrowing detail about how the modern GOP readily turned itself into a gaggle of mendicants to serve Trump on bended knee. Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 29 Apr. 2023 The exceptions—a weeping woman on bended knee, whose face was being frantically licked by a small dog with a Union Jack bandana around its neck that yelped in poignant affection—were notable. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2022 The photos showed Kelce on bended knee under a vine arch with white, pink and red flowers in a garden proposing to Swift, who wore a Polo Ralph Lauren striped dress with a ruched bodice, paired with strappy brown block heels by Louis Vuitton and a diamond Cartier watch. Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019

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“On bended knee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20bended%20knee. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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