bend the knee
To swear fealty or allegiance to another person.
The timid among them declared that he would burn the houses and hang all that had bent the knee to King Louis.
ADJ
bony | bare | bent
drawn-up
She sat on the floor with her drawn-up knees hugged close to her chest.
arthritic, bad, dodgy, injured, stiff, troublesome, twisted
VERB + KNEE
bend | straighten | draw up
hug
She sat on the floor and hugged her knees while watching the scary movie.
drop (down) on, drop to, fall on/to, go down on, sink to
She dropped to her knees when she saw her lost dog running toward her.
sit on
The little boy sat on his grandfather's knee while listening to bedtime stories.
sprain, twist | graze, skin
slap
She slapped her knee when she heard the funny joke at dinner.
pat
She gently patted his knee to get his attention during the boring meeting.
KNEE + VERB
buckle, give way
When he saw the accident, his knees buckled and he had to sit down.
knock, shake, tremble
KNEE + NOUN
injury, problem, trouble | operation, surgery | joint, ligament | socks | pad
PREP
above the ~, across your ~s
The water came up above my knees as I waded through the river.
at sb's ~
My grandmother taught me to cook traditional recipes at her knee when I was young.
below the ~
The doctor examined the swelling below the knee after her fall on the stairs.
between your ~s
When the plane hit turbulence, the flight attendant told everyone to put their heads between their knees.
in your ~
She felt a sharp pain in her knee when she landed awkwardly during the soccer match.
on one ~
She knelt down on one knee to tie her daughter's shoelaces.
on your ~
The child sat on her knees to pick flowers from the garden.
to your ~s
She fell to her knees and searched frantically through the grass for her lost ring.
PHRASES
bring sth to its knees
The economic crisis brought the small business to its knees in just a few months.
on bended knee
He refused to go on bended knee and apologize for something he didn't do.