Standard Lemma guide

kneecap

noun · verb · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈniːˌkæp/
  • nē'kăp
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːkæp
  • CMU ARPABET: N IY1 K AE2 P Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The flat, roundish bone in the knee.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: kneepan, patella, rotula, scutum

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A metal cover trim that fits over a panel rib after it has been cut and bent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, construction, manufacturing, roofing

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A cap or strong covering for the knees, used chiefly for horses, to protect their knees in case of a fall.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To destroy the knees of (a person), usually by shooting at the knees, as a punishment carried out by criminals or terrorists.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To attack (someone) in a way that is excessively and needlessly damaging: to cut (someone) off at the knees.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, figuratively, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a small flat triangular bone in front of the knee that protects the knee joint

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: patella, kneepan

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sesamoid bone, sesamoid, os sesamoideum

7

verb

Meaning 7

shoot in the kneecap, often done by terrorist groups as a warning

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • They kneecapped the industrialist

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: shoot, hit, pip

History

Etymology

From knee + cap.

Across languages

Translations

111 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: knieknop — bone
  • Afrikaans: knieskyf — bone
  • Arabic: رَضَفَة (raḍafa) — bone
  • Arabic: صبونة (ṣabuna) — bone
  • Aramaic: ܙܵܒ݂ܘܼܪܬܵܐ ܕܥܲܛܡܵܐ — bone
  • Armenian: ծնկոսկր (cnkoskr) — bone
  • Azerbaijani: diz qapağı — bone
  • Bashkir: тубыҡ ҡапҡасы (tubıq qapqası) — bone
  • Basque: belaunburu — bone
  • Breton: mell-glin — bone
  • Bulgarian: патела (patela) — bone
  • Bulgarian: капачка на коляното (kapačka na koljanoto) — bone
  • Burmese: ဒူးခေါင်း (du:hkaung:) — bone
  • Catalan: ròtula — bone
  • Catalan: patel·la — bone
  • Cebuano: tuwáytuway — bone
  • Chinese Mandarin: 膝蓋骨 /膝盖骨 (xīgàigǔ) — bone
  • Cornish: penn glin — bone
  • Czech: čéška — bone
  • Danish: knæskal — bone
  • Dhivehi: ފިޔަން ކަށިގަނޑު (fiyan̊ kaṣiganḍu) — bone
  • Dutch: knieschijf — bone
  • Dutch: patella — bone
  • Esperanto: patelo — bone
  • Finnish: polvilumpio — bone
  • French: rotule — bone
  • Galician: rodela — bone
  • Galician: rótula — bone
  • Georgian: კვირისთავი (ḳviristavi) — bone
  • Georgian: სამუხლე (samuxle) — bone
  • German: Kniescheibe — bone
  • German: Patella — bone
  • Greek: επιγονατίδα (epigonatída) — bone
  • Hebrew: פיקה (piká) — bone
  • White Hmong: pob hauv caug — bone
  • Hungarian: térdkalács — bone
  • Icelandic: hnéskel — bone
  • Indonesian: tempurung lutut — bone
  • Indonesian: patela — bone
  • Indonesian: cencawan — bone
  • Indonesian: kunci-kunci lutut — bone
  • Ingrian: polvensilmä — bone
  • Ingrian: polvenkakku — bone
  • Irish: gealacán — bone
  • Irish: gealacán glúine — bone
  • Irish: caipín glúine — bone
  • Italian: rotula — bone
  • Italian: patella — bone
  • Japanese: 膝蓋骨 (shitsugaikotsu) — bone
  • Kannada: ಮಂಡಿಚಿಪ್ಪು (maṇḍicippu) — bone
  • Kapampangan: bulakus — bone
  • Khmer: ក្បាលជង្គង់ (kbaal cŭəngkŭəng) — bone
  • Korean: 슬개골 (seulgaegol) — bone
  • Korean: 무릎뼈 (mureupppyeo) — bone
  • Northern Kurdish: kulavê çokê — bone
  • Lao: ຫມາກບ້າຫົວເຂົ່າ (māk bā hūa khao) — bone
  • Lao: ສະບັງ — bone
  • Lao: ຊານຸມົນທົນ (sā nu mon thon) — bone
  • Latin: patella — bone
  • Luxembourgish: Knéischeif — bone
  • Malay: tempurung lutut — bone
  • Malay: cencawan — bone
  • Malay: kunci-kunci lutut — bone
  • Malay: patela — bone
  • Brunei Malay: kapala tuhut — bone
  • Malayalam: മുട്ടിൻചിരട്ട (muṭṭiṉciraṭṭa) — bone
  • Māori: popoki — bone
  • Central Melanau: sulau bukou — bone
  • Mongolian: тойг (tojg) — bone
  • Khiamniungan Naga: shīekāuh khǜvīe — bone
  • Navajo: agod distʼání — bone
  • Newar: पुलिक्वँय् (pulikwãê) — bone
  • Norman: palette du g'nou — bone
  • Persian: کشکک (kaškak) — bone
  • Polish: rzepka — bone
  • Portuguese: rótula — bone
  • Portuguese: patela — bone
  • Romanian: patelă — bone
  • Romanian: rotulă — bone
  • Russian: коле́нная ча́шечка (kolénnaja čášečka) — bone
  • Russian: надколе́нник (nadkolénnik) — bone
  • Russian: надколе́нная ча́шка (nadkolénnaja čáška) — bone
  • Northern Sami: čibbeskálžu — bone
  • Sanskrit: कपोल (kapola) — bone
  • Saraiki: چُھوݨی (chūṇī) — bone
  • Scottish Gaelic: failmean — bone
  • Slovene: pogačica — bone
  • Spanish: rótula — bone
  • Spanish: choquezuela — bone
  • Swedish: knäskål — bone
  • Tagalog: suklob-tuhod — bone
  • Tagalog: suklob ng tuhod — bone
  • Tagalog: bayugo — bone
  • Telugu: మోకాటి చిప్ప (mōkāṭi cippa) — bone
  • Thai: สะบ้า (sà-bâa) — bone
  • Tibetan: པུས་མོའི་ལྷ་ང (pus mo'i lha nga) — bone
  • Turkish: diz kapağı — bone
  • Turkish: patella — bone
  • Ottoman Turkish: دیز قپاغی (diz kapağı) — bone
  • Ukrainian: колі́нна ча́шечка (kolínna čášečka) — bone
  • Ukrainian: наколі́нок (nakolínok) — bone
  • Ukrainian: надколі́нок (nadkolínok) — bone
  • Ukrainian: наколі́нник (nakolínnyk) — bone
  • Ukrainian: надколі́нник (nadkolínnyk) — bone
  • Vietnamese: xương bánh chè — bone
  • Volapük: patel — bone
  • Welsh: padell pen-glin — bone
  • Welsh: pellen pen-glin — bone
  • Italian: gambizzare — to destroy the knees
  • Italian: azzoppare — to destroy the knees
  • Polish: przestrzelić kolana — to destroy the knees