Meanings
knead1
present singular third person kneads · participle present kneading · past kneaded · participle past kneaded · archaic participle past kneaden · obsolete participle past knodden
- transitiveTo work and press into a mass, usually with the hands; especially, to work, as by repeated pressure with the knuckles, into a well mixed mass, the materials of bread, cake, etc.
Knead the dough by pressing down on it with the heels of both your palms and pushing it forward to stretch it, then pulling it back toward you...
2001, Özcan Ozan, Carl Tremblay, The Sultan's Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook - figurativelytransitiveTo treat or form as if by kneading; to beat.
I will knead him: I'll make him supple.
c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii] - intransitiveOf cats, to make an alternating pressing motion with the two front paws.
Cats knead with their paws when happy, just as they kneaded when feeding from their mothers as kittens.
1991, Grace McHattie, That's cats!: a compendium of feline facts2 more examples
One of the most characteristic things that cats do is ”knead,” pushing their paws alternately against any invitingly soft area of their human friends' bodies like a baker kneading dough.
2001, John C. Wright, Judi Wright Lashnits, Ain't Misbehavin', Rodale, →ISBN, page 44Why do cats knead? When kittens are nursing, they knead against their mothers' bellies to draw out milk. A relaxed adult cat kneads your leg or a couch cushion to show that he's happy and content, as he was when he was a nursing baby.
2012, Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Cat Lover's Companion, Simon and Schuster, →ISBNSynonyms: make biscuits, make muffins
plural kneads
- The act of kneading something.
Do not expect the dough to be very manageable even after a good knead.
2011, Andrew Whitley, Bread Matters
knead2
- obsoleteparticiplepastsimple past and past participle of knead
Synonyms & antonyms
verbOf cats, to make an alternating pressing motion with the two front paws.
verbTo mix thoroughly; form into a homogeneous compound.
More synonyms by meaning
verbmanually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal or relaxation purposes
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*gnet-“to press together”
- Proto-Germanic*knudaną
- Proto-West Germanic*knedan
- Old Englishcnedan
- Middle Englishkneden
- Englishknead
From Middle English kneden, from Old English cnedan, from Proto-West Germanic *knedan, from Proto-Germanic *knudaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gnet- (“to press together”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μάσσω, φυράω
- μάσσω (mássō)to work and press into a mass
- φυράω (phuráō)to work and press into a mass
Arabic عَجَنَ, دَلَكَ
- عَجَنَ (ʕajana)to work and press into a mass
- دَلَكَ (dalaka)to work and press into a mass
Bulgarian меся, замесвам
- меся (mesja)to work and press into a mass
- замесвам (zamesvam)to work and press into a mass
- замеся (zamesja)to work and press into a mass
Catalan amassar
- amassarto work and press into a mass
Chinese Mandarin 捏, 揉
- 捏 (niē)to work and press into a mass
- 揉 (róu)to work and press into a mass
- 搓揉 (cuōróu)to work and press into a mass
- 踩奶 (cǎinǎi)(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
Czech hníst
- hnístto work and press into a mass
Danish ælte
- ælteto work and press into a mass
Dutch kneden
- knedento work and press into a mass
Esperanto knedi
- knedito work and press into a mass
Finnish vaivata, sotkea
- vaivatato work and press into a mass
- sotkeato work and press into a mass
- leipoa(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
French pétrir, tricoter
- pétrirto work and press into a mass
- tricoter(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
- patouner(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
German kneten
- knetento work and press into a mass
Greek ζυμώνω
- ζυμώνω (zymóno)to work and press into a mass
Hebrew לָשׁ
- לָשׁto work and press into a mass
Hungarian dagaszt, gyúr
- dagasztto work and press into a mass
- gyúrto work and press into a mass
Italian manipolare, impastare
- manipolareto work and press into a mass
- impastareto work and press into a mass
- massaggiareto work and press into a mass
- amalgamareto work and press into a mass
- comprimereto work and press into a mass
- impastare(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
Japanese 捏ねる, 練る
- 捏ねる (koneru)to work and press into a mass
- 練る (neru)to work and press into a mass
- ふみふみ (fumifumi)(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
Korean 이기다, 꾹꾹이
- 이기다 (igida)to work and press into a mass
- 꾹꾹이 (kkukkkugi)(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
Latin depsō, fingō
- depsōto work and press into a mass
- fingōto work and press into a mass
Māori pōpō, poi
- pōpōto work and press into a mass
- poito work and press into a mass
- poketo work and press into a mass
- pokepoketo work and press into a mass
Norwegian kna
- knato work and press into a mass
Persian ورز دادن, سرشتن
- ورز دادن (varz dâdan)to work and press into a mass
- سرشتن (sereštan)to work and press into a mass
Polish gnieść, ugniatać
- gnieśćto work and press into a mass
- ugniataćto work and press into a mass
- zagniataćto work and press into a mass
- miesićto work and press into a mass
- ugniatać(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
Portuguese amassar, sovar
- amassarto work and press into a mass
- sovarto work and press into a mass
Punjabi ਗੁੰਨ੍ਹਣਾ, گُنّھݨا
- ਗੁੰਨ੍ਹਣਾ (gunnhṇā)to work and press into a mass
- گُنّھݨا (gunnhṇā)to work and press into a mass
Romanian frământa
- frământato work and press into a mass
Russian меси́ть, заме́шивать
- меси́ть (mesítʹ)to work and press into a mass
- заме́шивать (zaméšivatʹ)to work and press into a mass
- замеси́ть (zamesítʹ)to work and press into a mass
Slovak miesiť, hniesť
- miesiťto work and press into a mass
- hniesťto work and press into a mass
Spanish amasar, mullir
- amasarto work and press into a mass
- mullirto work and press into a mass
- malaxarto work and press into a mass
- heñirto work and press into a mass
- hiñirto work and press into a mass
Swedish knåda
- knådato work and press into a mass
Tagalog lapisain
- lapisainto work and press into a mass
Thai นวด
- นวด (nûuat)to work and press into a mass
Turkish yoğurmak, masaj yapmak
- yoğurmakto work and press into a mass
- masaj yapmak(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
- yoğurmak(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
- yoğurma hareketi yapmak(of cats) to press on a surface to relax — see also make biscuits
Ukrainian міси́ти
- міси́ти (misýty)to work and press into a mass
Urdu گُون٘دْھنا
- گُون٘دْھنا (gū̃dhnā)to work and press into a mass
Vietnamese nhào
- nhàoto work and press into a mass
Welsh tylino
- tylinoto work and press into a mass
Yiddish קנעטן
- קנעטן (knetn)to work and press into a mass
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with knead
Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
knead. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knead
“knead.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knead. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “knead,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/knead.
Source: knead on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.