knead
Americanverb (used with object)
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to work (dough, clay, etc.) into a uniform mixture by pressing, folding, and stretching.
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to manipulate by similar movements, as the body in a massage.
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to make by kneading.
to knead bread.
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to make kneading movements with.
She kneaded her fist into her palm.
verb
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to work and press (a soft substance, such as bread dough) into a uniform mixture with the hands
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to squeeze, massage, or press with the hands
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to make by kneading
Other Word Forms
- kneadability noun
- kneadable adjective
- kneader noun
- kneadingly adverb
- reknead verb (used with object)
- unkneaded adjective
Etymology
Origin of knead
before 950; Middle English kneden, Old English cnedan; cognate with German kneten, Dutch kneden
Explanation
To knead is to massage, as you might knead a sore muscle to relieve the pain or knead bread dough before baking it. Knead, pronounced “need,” comes from Old English, and its meaning has changed little over time. Knead is sometimes used to describe a cat’s behavior of repeatedly pushing its paws (and claws) into soft surfaces — almost like it’s kneading dough. We’re pretty sure cats did the same thing long ago when folks spoke Old English, but there’s no word on whether knead was used to describe this behavior back then.
Vocabulary lists containing knead
The Silent Treatment: Words Plagued by Silent Letters
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Stairway To Leaven: Baking Vocabulary
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"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 1 of the epic poem
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Though its smell is hardly appetizing, the cloth is surrounded by a group of women, each with her hands on the folds to knead, slap, punch and beat the cloth into shape.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Workers don't like to wake up early to knead dough by hand, Mr Hur says softly.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2025
On a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic.
From Salon • Mar. 12, 2024
Nouman said his first job is to start a small fire to cook breakfast, while his wife and daughters knead dough for flatbread and then wash their utensils and metal cooking griddle.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 4, 2024
Root blinked, resisting the urge to knead his watering eye.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
