take the knee

A form of take a knee — To come to rest, usually briefly, with one of one's knees on the ground.

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Meanings

verbtake the knee (third-person singular simple present takes the knee, present participle taking the knee, simple past took the knee, past participle taken the knee)

present singular third person takes the knee · participle present taking the knee · past took the knee · participle past taken the knee

  1. alternativeAlternative form of take a knee.

    “This is why we take the knee,” David Lammy, a Labour Party member of Parliament who is Black, said on Twitter. “Praying for a better future — worthy of the values, beauty and respect exemplified by every single England player.”

    2021 July 12, Mark Landler, quoting David Lammy, “After Defeat, England’s Black Soccer Players Face a Racist Outburst”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
    1 more example

    In a match which contained several flashpoints in the crowd, including loud jeering when England's players took the knee before kick-off, objects being thrown and racist chanting, they came through a mediocre first half to take total control after the break and run out easy winners.

    2021 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Hungary 0-4 England”, in BBC
Cite this entry
APA

take the knee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20knee

MLA

“take the knee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20knee. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “take the knee,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/take%20the%20knee.

Source: take the knee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.