knee

[nee] /ni/
noun
1.
Anatomy. the joint of the leg that allows for movement between the femur and tibia and is protected by the patella; the central area of the leg between the thigh and the lower leg.
2.
Zoology. the corresponding joint or region in the hind leg of a quadruped; stifle.
3.
a joint or region likened to this but not anatomically homologous with it, as the tarsal joint of a bird, the carpal joint in the forelimb of the horse or cow, etc.
4.
the part of a garment covering the knee.
5.
something resembling a bent knee, especially a rigid or braced angle between two framing members.
6.
Also called hip, shoulder. Furniture. the inward curve toward the top of a cabriole leg.
7.
Building Trades.
  1. the junction of the top and either of the uprights of a bent.
  2. a curved member for reinforcing the junction of two pieces meeting at an angle.
8.
Also called kneeler. a stone cut to follow a sharp return angle.
verb (used with object), kneed, kneeing.
9.
to strike or touch with the knee.
10.
to secure (a structure, as a bent) with a knee.
verb (used without object), kneed, kneeing.
11.
Obsolete. to go down on the knees; kneel.
Idioms
12.
bring someone to his / her knees, to force someone into submission or compliance.
13.
cut (someone) off at the knees, to squelch or humiliate (a person) suddenly and thoroughly:
The speaker cut the heckler off at the knees.
14.
on one's / its knees,
  1. in a supplicatory position or manner:
    I came to him on my knees for the money.
  2. in a desperate or declining condition:
    The country's economy is on its knees.
Origin
before 900; Middle English cneo, Old English cnēo(w); cognate with German, Dutch knie, Old Norse knē, Gothic kniu, Latin genu, Greek góny, Sanskrit jānu knee
Examples from the web for knee
  • Bring the ankle of one foot to the opposite knee, making sure that your ankle is beyond the knee joint.
  • Slide your right leg back two or three feet and lean forward onto your left leg, knee bent.
  • knee-straining steeps and breath-catching breaks alternate as if they were planned.
  • There are few gators hereabouts, and no, you won't be camping in knee-deep water.
  • Her right leg was especially damaged, and doctors amputated it above the knee.
  • When he finished, he snapped the staff over his knee and fed it to the flames.
  • We waded when the water dropped to knee-deep in summer and carried a faint whiff of the sewage treatment plant upstream.
  • He sits in a relaxed position, forearm on knee, elongated hand dangling.
  • We remove our shoes, roll up our trousers and nervously wade knee-deep in the toxic stream.
  • CT scans showed he had a deteriorating left foot, dislocated left knee, fractures and broken skin and bone.
British Dictionary definitions for knee

knee

/niː/
noun
1.
the joint of the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella Technical name genu, related adjective genicular
2.
  1. the area surrounding and above this joint
  2. (modifier) reaching or covering the knee: knee breeches, knee socks
3.
a corresponding or similar part in other vertebrates
4.
the part of a garment that covers the knee
5.
the upper surface of a seated person's thigh: the child sat on her mother's knee
6.
anything resembling a knee in action, such as a device pivoted to allow one member angular movement in relation to another
7.
anything resembling a knee in shape, such as an angular bend in a pipe
8.
any of the hollow rounded protuberances that project upwards from the roots of the swamp cypress: thought to aid respiration in waterlogged soil
9.
bend the knee, bow the knee, to kneel or submit
10.
bring someone to his knees, to force someone into submission
11.
bring something to its knees, to cause something to be in a weakened or impoverished state
verb knees, kneeing, kneed
12.
(transitive) to strike, nudge, or push with the knee
Word Origin
Old English cnēow; compare Old High German kneo, Old Norse knē, Latin genu
Word Origin and History for knee
n.

Old English cneo, cneow "knee," from Proto-Germanic *knewam (cf. Old Norse kne, Old Saxon kneo, Old Frisian kni, Middle Dutch cnie, Dutch knie, Old High German kniu, German Knie, Gothic kniu), from PIE root *g(e)neu- (cf. Sanskrit janu, Avestan znum, Hittite genu "knee;" Greek gony "knee," gonia "corner, angle;" Latin genu "knee"). Knee-slapper "funny joke" is from 1955.

v.

early 13c., "to bend the knee, kneel," from Old English cneowian, from cneow (see knee (n.)). The meaning "to strike with the knee" is first recorded 1892. Related: Kneed; kneeing.

knee in Medicine

knee (nē)
n.

  1. The joint between the thigh and the lower leg, formed by the articulation of the femur and the tibia and covered anteriorly by the patella.

  2. The region of the leg that encloses and supports this joint.

Idioms and Phrases with knee

knee

In addition to the idiom beginning with
knee
also see:
Encyclopedia Article for knee

hinge joint that is formed by the meeting of the thigh bone (femur) and the larger bone (tibia) of the lower leg. The knee is the largest joint in the body and has to sustain the greatest stresses, since it supports the entire weight of the body above it. Consequently, the rounded ends, or condyles, of the femur and tibia that meet at the knee are massive. The rounded ends of the tibia move forward and backward on the corresponding ends of the femur; the kneecap, or patella, rests upon the ends of the femur and serves to prevent the tibia from moving too far forward when the leg is bent. The articulating (meeting) surfaces of the femur and tibia condyles are very smooth and are separated by a slight gap. The femur and the tibia are held together at the joint by a complex system of ligaments that run from the condyles of one bone to the condyles of the other. The two bones' possible contact with each other is cushioned by a synovial membrane and by layers of cartilage on the surface of each condyle. The entire knee joint, including the kneecap, is enveloped in a capsular apparatus that is large enough to allow for the movement of the tibia and also allows the kneecap to swing up and down freely on the front surface of the femur.

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