noun | verb
kneeknee1 /ni/ ●●● S2 W2 noun [countable] 1
BODY PART the joint that bends in the middle of your leg: When you are skiing, you have to keep your knees bent. a knee injury Sarah was on her knees, weeding the garden. The kids were crawling around on their hands and knees.2CLOTHES the part of your clothes that covers your knee: Billy’s jeans had holes in both knees.3on somebody’s knee on the top part of your legs when you are sitting down: I used to sit on Grandpa’s knee and ask him to read to me.4at somebody’s knee if you learn something at someone’s knee, you learn something directly from someone when you are young: I learned how to cook at my grandmother’s knee.5bring somebody/something to his/her/its knees a)to defeat a country or group of people in a war b)to have such a bad effect on an organization, activity, etc. that it cannot continue: The recession has brought many companies to their knees.6on your knees in a way that shows you have no power but want or need something very much: Eric was on his knees asking for forgiveness. What do you want me to do? Get down on my knees and beg?7drop/fall to your knees to quickly move to a position where your body is resting on your knees8get/go down on one knee to kneel on one knee, especially when asking someone to marry you9put/take somebody over your knee old-fashioned to punish a child by hitting them on their buttocks[Origin: Old English cneow] → see also be the bee’s knees at bee (4), on bended knee at bend1 (7), knee/elbow/shoulder pad at pad1 (1), weak at the knees at weak1 (14) noun | verb
kneeknee2 verb [transitive] to hit someone with your knee: I kneed him in the groin.