knee

I. knee¹ S2 W2 /niː/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: cneow]
1. the joint that bends in the middle of your leg:
Lucy had a bandage round her knee.
on your knees
She was on her knees (=kneeling), weeding the garden.
sink/fall/drop to your knees (=move so that you are kneeling)
Tim fell to his knees and started to pray.
a knee injury
2. the part of your clothes that covers your knee:
His jeans had holes in both knees.
3. on sb’s knee on the top part of your legs when you are sitting down:
Daddy, can I sit on your knee?
4. knees knocking (together) if your knees are knocking, you are feeling very afraid or very cold
5. on your knees in a way that shows you have no power but want or need something very much:
He went on his knees begging for his job back.
6. bring somebody/something to their knees
a) to defeat a country or group of people in a war:
The bombing was supposed to bring the country to its knees.
b) to have such a bad effect on an organization, activity etc that it cannot continue SYN cripple:
The recession has brought many companies to their knees.
7. put/take somebody over your knee old-fashioned to punish a child by hitting them
8. on bended knee(s) old-fashioned in a way that shows great respect for someone
⇨ learn/be taught something at your mother’s knee at ↑mother¹(4), ⇨ the bee’s knees at ↑bee(5), ⇨ weak at the knees at ↑weak(13)

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

knee

knee [knee knees kneed kneeing] noun, verb [niː] [niː]

noun
1. the joint between the top and bottom parts of the leg where it bends in the middle
• a knee injury
• I grazed my knee when I fell.
• He went down on one knee and asked her to marry him.
• She was on her knees scrubbing the kitchen floor.
• Everyone was down on (their) hands and knees (= crawling on the floor) looking for the ring.
• My knees were knocking (= I was frightened).

2. the part of a piece of clothing that covers the knee
• These jeans are torn at the knee.

• a knee patch

3. the top surface of the upper part of the legs when you are sitting down
Syn: lap
• Come and sit on Daddy's knee.
more at the bee's knees at bee, on bended knee at bend _v., at your mother's knee at mother _n., weak at the knees at weak
Word Origin:
Old English cnēow, cnēo, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch knie and German Knie, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin genu and Greek gonu.
Example Bank:
• He dropped to one knee.
• He hugged his knees to keep warm.
• He patted her knee reassuringly.
• He refuses to wear a knee brace.
• He slapped his knee as he rocked with laughter.
• He was on his knees, searching for the missing spring.
• He went down on his knees and begged for forgiveness.
• He's snapped a ligament in his knee.
• His leg was missing below the knee.
• I balanced the pile of books on my knees.
• I injured my knee and had to have surgery.
• I rested my chin on my drawn-up knees.
• I was on my hands and knees, looking for my key.
• I went down on one knee to plug in the vacuum cleaner.
• If you hear the crash-landing warning, put your head between your knees.
• Rita felt her knees weakening.
• She had a blanket draped across her knees.
• She sat on her father's knee while he read her a story.
• She sat on her father's knee= lap while he read her a story.
• She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest.
• She would ask for a rise, but would not beg for one on bended knee.
• Suddenly her knees buckled and she fell to the floor.
• The blow knocked him to his knees.
• The children had learned these stories at their mother's knee.
• The fuel shortage brought the country to its knees within weeks.

Idioms: bring somebody to their knees ▪ bring something to its knees ▪ put somebody over your knee

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

knee / niː / noun [ C ]

B1 the middle joint of the leg, which allows it to bend:

The baby was crawling around on its hands and knees.

He got/went down on his knees (= got into a position where his knees were on the ground) in front of the altar.

She took the child and sat it on her knee (= on the part of the leg above the knee when sitting down) .

See picture body

the part of a piece of clothing that covers the knee:

She was wearing an old pair of trousers with rips at the knees.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

knee

/ni:/
(knees, kneeing, kneed)

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.

1.
Your knee is the place where your leg bends.
He will receive physiotherapy on his damaged left knee.
...a knee injury.
N-COUNT: oft poss N

2.
If something or someone is on your knee or on your knees, they are resting or sitting on the upper part of your legs when you are sitting down.
He sat with the package on his knees...
= lap
N-COUNT: poss N, oft on N

3.
If you are on your knees, your legs are bent and your knees are on the ground.
She fell to the ground on her knees and prayed...
N-PLURAL: poss N, usu on/to N

4.
If you knee someone, you hit them using your knee.
Ian kneed him in the groin.
VERB: V n

5.
If a country or organization is brought to its knees, it is almost completely destroyed by someone or something.
The country was being brought to its knees by the loss of 2.4 million manufacturing jobs...
PHRASE: V inflects

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

¹knee /ˈniː/ noun, pl knees [count]
1 : the joint that bends at the middle of your leg
• I fell down and hurt my knee.
• She suffered a serious knee injury.
• His knees trembled/shook with fear.
• She dropped/fell/sank to her knees [=she knelt down] and begged for forgiveness. = She got down on her knees and begged for forgiveness.
• He got/went down on one knee and proposed to her.
• If you want to clean the floor properly, you have to get down on your (hands and) knees [=you have to kneel down on the floor] and start scrubbing.
- see picture at human
2 : the upper part of your leg when you are sitting
• His little granddaughter sat on his knee.
3 : the part that covers the knee on a pair of pants
• Her jeans had holes at the knees.
4 : a forceful hit with a bent knee
• She gave him a knee to the stomach. [=she kneed him in the stomach]
bring (someone) to his/her knees : to completely defeat or overwhelm (someone)
• The general vowed he would bring the enemy to their knees.
- often used figuratively
• The increase in oil prices could bring the economy to its knees. [=it could greatly hurt the economy]
learn (something) at your mother's knee : to learn (something) when you are very young
• I learned to speak French at my mother's knee.
on bended knee/knees
- see ¹bend
weak at/in the knees