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knee

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

nee
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈni

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.

  2. anatomy

    Joint between the femur and tibia in a quadruped; corresponds to the human knee

  3. anatomy

    In humans, the joint or the region of the joint in the middle part of the leg between the thigh and the shank.

  4. The part of a trouser leg that provides the cloth covering for the knee

  5. The part of a garment that covers the knee.

  6. A blow made with the knee; a kneeing.

verb

  1. transitive

    To poke or strike with the knee.

  2. reflexive

    To move on the knees; to use the knees to move.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: In the horse and allied animals, the carpal joint, corresponding to the wrist in humans.

Used this way, knee is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use knee

  • “I accidentally bumped my knee really hard on the table.”

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Joint / horse

knee jointbent kneeleft knee

Trouser

knee breeches

Other combinations

wounded kneeknee painknee replacementright knee

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • knee-hinounCompound term

    A sock or stocking that reaches up to just below the knees.

  • knee-highnounCompound term

    A sock or stocking that reaches up to just below the knees.

  • knee jerknounCompound term

    A reflex extension of the leg resulting from a sharp tap on the patellar tendon.

  • knee-jerk reflexnounCompound term

    A reflex extension of the leg resulting from a sharp tap on the patellar tendon.

  • knee jointnounCompound term

    Hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella.

  • knee-lengthadjectiveCompound term

    Extending to the knee.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • kneelingnounRelated term

    Supporting yourself on your knees.

  • kneelverbRelated term

    Rest one's weight on one's knees.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: in the horse and allied animals

stifleknee joint

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.