I. knee¹ S2 W2 /niː/ 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 Synonym : 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)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. knee² verb [transitive + in]
to hit someone with your knee:
I kneed him in the groin.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

knee
noun
ADJ. bony | bare | bent | drawn-up I rested my chin on my drawn-up knees.
arthritic, bad, dodgy, injured, stiff, troublesome, twisted
VERB + KNEE bend | straighten | draw up | hug He hugged his knees to keep warm.
drop (down) on, drop to, fall on/to, go down on, sink to He went down on his knees and begged for forgiveness.
sit on She sat on her father's knee (= lap) while he read her a story.
sprain, twist | graze, skin | slap He slapped his knee as he rocked with laughter.
pat He patted her knee reassuringly.
KNEE + VERB buckle, give way Suddenly her knees buckled and she fell to the floor.
knock, shake, tremble
KNEE + NOUN injury, problem, trouble | operation, surgery | joint, ligament | socks | pad
PREP. above the ~, across your ~s She had a blanket draped across her knees.
at sb's ~ The children had learnt these stories at their mother's knee.
below the ~ His leg was missing below the knee.
between your ~s If you hear the crash-landing warning, put your head between your knees.
in your ~ He's snapped a ligament in his knee.
on one ~ I went down on one knee to plug in the vacuum cleaner.
on your ~ I balanced the pile of books on my knees. He was on his knees, searching for the missing spring.
to your ~s The blow knocked him to his knees.
PHRASES bring sth to its knees (figurative) The fuel shortage brought the country to its knees within weeks.
on bended knee (figurative) She would ask for a rise, but would not beg for one on bended knee.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

knee
ni:
See: bring to one's knees , in the lap of the gods also on the knees of the gods , on one's knees , up to the chin in or up to the knee in

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲