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 supplicationHe was forced to ask for their help on bended knee.
Examples of on bended knee in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
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
Freedom of speech and equal justice under the law are not rare favors that require our pleading and begging on bended knee.
—WSJ, 20 Oct. 2021
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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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
Freedom of speech and equal justice under the law are not rare favors that require our pleading and begging on bended knee.
—WSJ, 20 Oct. 2021
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
Cite this Entry
“On bended knee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20bended%20knee. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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