take a knee
(in Americanfootball, of aquarterback) to go down on onekneeafterreceivingtheball,stoppingthegametemporarily:
Quarterback Vinny Testaverde took akneeon thefinalplayof thegame,symbolicallyclosingout his 21-yearcareerin theplaceitbegan.
It's asignofrespectandconcernto take akneewhen aplayerishurt.
(alsotake the knee)
(especiallyofplayersinsport) to go down on oneknee, usually on asportspitchbefore agame, as aprotestagainstracism(=unfairtreatment,violence, orhatreddirectedagainstpeoplebecause oftheirrace):
SeveralplayersonThursdaytook aknee,raisedafistor did not take to thefieldwhile theanthemwasplayed.
OnSundayhe took akneeduring thenationalanthemtoprotestsocialinjustice.
He said, "Players have everyrightto take theknee".
American football
- attempt
- blitz
- blocker
- blocking
- carry
- carry the ballidiom
- drop
- football
- fullback
- huddle
- linebacker
- nonconference
- offence
- outgain
- outkick
- place-kick
- scramble
- split end
- Super Bowl
- touchdown
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Activism & pressure groups
Examplesoftake a knee
take a knee
The player kneeling is said totakeaknee, and thus is taking a knee or taking the knee.
From
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Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.The quarterback will thentakeakneeon three consecutive plays, wasting 40 seconds each time, to allow the clock to run out.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.The quarterback of the team in the lead will often "takeaknee" on the first snap following the two-minute warning.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Wesley would thentakeakneeto win 35 to 28.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.Nowadays, teams in this situation let the play clock run down to the last possible second and have the quarterbacktakeaknee.
FromThis example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.