plural kneecaps
: a thick flat triangular movable bone that forms the anterior point of the knee and protects the front of the joint : patella
… [Richard] Steadman did arthroscopic surgery on both knees, taking out cartilage, and adjusting synovial plica, the bands of thickened tissue that line the joint behind the kneecaps …—
William Oscar Johnson
William Oscar JohnsonMany people who play basketball, volleyball, or soccer are all too familiar with patellar tendinitis, an inflammation of the large tendon connecting the kneecap to the upper tibia.—Andrew Weil
Andrew WeilThe stifle joint of a horse corresponds to the human knee. It has a patella, or kneecap, at the front of the joint.—Robert M. Miller
Robert M. Miller
kneecapped; kneecapping; kneecaps
: to shoot or otherwise maim or disable the knee of (someone)
He was shot in both knees, deliberately maimed—"kneecapped," in local parlance.—Francis X. Clines
Francis X. Clines… punishing petty crooks and unruly juveniles by kneecapping them, sometimes with bullets, sometimes with a … power drill. The degree of crippling one receives is supposed to be a reflection of the gravity of one's crime.—Bill Barich
—often used figurativelyBill Barich… hearing from people who grasp their brows in dire concern over whether the President is now too damaged to carry on—this from people who have been doing their … best to kneecap the man for years.—Molly Ivins
Molly IvinsThis 66-yard scoring drive Smith engineered late in the first half … basically kneecapped the home team.—Austin Murphy
Austin MurphyThe decision to liquidate $25 million worth of the band's Live Nation stock last year nearly kneecapped the company …—Steve Kandell
Steve KandellExamples of kneecap in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebJon Wilner, The Mercury News, 13 June 2024
With the kneecap posing questions, dental details are what principally distinguish the larger and smaller apes.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 June 2024
Marc Hirsh, EW.com, 13 June 2024
By cutting us off from the economic clout of our partners, Trump has kneecapped our country’s capacity to take on the real economic threat.
—Joseph R. Biden, Foreign Affairs, 23 Jan. 2020
See all Example Sentences for kneecap 
Noun
Conference commissioners and media executives will watch the CFP unfold next winter, fingers crossed that the 32-day sprawl and NFL postseason don’t kneecap interest.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 13 June 2024
With the kneecap posing questions, dental details are what principally distinguish the larger and smaller apes.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 June 2024
Verb
If one of us gets kneecapped... MO CHARA: The director [Rich Peppiatt] will be f---in' loving it.
—Marc Hirsh, EW.com, 13 June 2024
By cutting us off from the economic clout of our partners, Trump has kneecapped our country’s capacity to take on the real economic threat.
—Joseph R. Biden, Foreign Affairs, 23 Jan. 2020
See all Example Sentences for kneecap
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kneecap.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Kneecap.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kneecap. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
kneecap
noun
knee·cap
ˈnē-ˌkap 
: a thick flat movable bone forming the front part of the knee
called also patella
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