knee

knee

I

knee¹ S2 W2 /niː/ noun [countable]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)

II

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