kneecap

[ nee-kap ]

noun

1. the patella.
2. a protective covering, usually knitted, for the knee.

verb (used with object)

, knee·capped, knee·cap·ping.

1. to cripple (a person) by shooting in the knee:

   Terrorists were kneecapping prospective jurors.

kneecap

/ ˈniːˌkæp /

noun

1. anatomy a nontechnical name for patella
2. another word for poleyn

verb

1. (esp of certain terrorist groups) to shoot (a person) in the kneecap, esp as an act of retaliation

kneecap

/ nē′kăp′ /

1. See patella

Other Words From

• kneecapper noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of kneecap¹

First recorded in 1650–60; knee + cap ¹

Example Sentences

Early last year, Leno crashed his motorcycle and wound up with a broken collarbone, two broken ribs and two cracked kneecaps.

From Los Angeles Times

I believe he will kneecap the White House Correspondents Association, by ignoring our recommendations and requests and possibly taking over assignment of seats in the Brady Briefing Room — traditionally the province of the WHCA.

From Salon

“But when I was on the ground, I could see my kneecap was not where it was supposed to be.”

From BBC

To make matters worse, the photo resulted in Griffin being investigated by the Department of Justice and the Secret Service, landing her on the no-fly list and kneecapping any remaining prospects of live standup work.

From Salon

Four years later, the Trump administration asked a federal judge for a two-year delay in the pesticide review — another piece of the Trump administration’s top-to-bottom kneecapping of science and rollback of scores of environmental measures.

From Los Angeles Times