KNEE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does knee mean? 

• KNEE (noun)
  The noun KNEE has 3 senses:

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

2. joint between the femur and tibia in a quadruped; corresponds to the human knee

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

  Familiarity information: KNEE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KNEE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

articulatio genus; genu; human knee; knee; knee joint

Hypernyms ("knee" is a kind of...):

ginglymoid joint; ginglymus; hinge joint (a freely moving joint in which the bones are so articulated as to allow extensive movement in one plane)

Meronyms (parts of "knee"):

kneecap; kneepan; patella (a small flat triangular bone in front of the knee that protects the knee joint)

musculus articularis genus (the articular muscle of the knee)

genicular vein; vena genus (veins that drain blood from structures around the knee; empty into the popliteal vein)

Holonyms ("knee" is a part of...):

leg (a human limb; commonly used to refer to a whole limb but technically only the part of the limb between the knee and ankle)

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

knee; stifle

Hypernyms ("knee" is a kind of...):

articulatio; articulation; joint ((anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if it allows motion))

Holonyms ("knee" is a part of...):

hind leg (the back limb of a quadruped)

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("knee" is a kind of...):

cloth covering (a covering made of cloth)

Holonyms ("knee" is a part of...):

leg (a cloth covering consisting of the part of a pair of trousers that covers a person's leg)

 Context examples 

But Thornton fell on his knees beside Buck.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The team found the patterns also differed between rheumatoid arthritis FLS isolated from knees and hips.

(Rheumatoid arthritis mechanisms may vary by joint, NIH)

When they could see to the bottom there lay a wild man whose body was brown like rusty iron, and whose hair hung over his face down to his knees.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The surgical removal of part or all of leg that is below the knee.

(Amputation of Leg Through Tibia and Fibula, NCI Thesaurus)

I came back to my room and threw myself on my knees. It is then so near the end? To-morrow! to-morrow! Lord, help me, and those to whom I am dear!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Mars is touring Capricorn right now which rules all those areas of the body I listed—skin, teeth, bones, and especially the knees.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

My wife run out to embrace me, but I stooped lower than her knees, thinking she could otherwise never be able to reach my mouth.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

A major stabilizing ligament in the knee that attaches the surfaces of the femur and tibia.

(Anterior Cruciate Ligament, NCI Thesaurus)

I'll pray for all, often, on my knees.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A semicircular meniscus located towards the inner aspect of the knee joint.

(Meniscus Medialis, NCI Thesaurus)