fell to one's knees

Verb

fall to one's knees (third-person singular simple present falls to one's knees, present participle falling to one's knees, simple past fell to one's knees, past participle fallen to one's knees)

1. To collapse into a crouched kneeling position.
   • And then he dropped the pistol and fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands and began to cry violently, his shoulders heaving and his head bouncing and the exasperation of something having finally reached its end.2021, Michael Farris Smith, chapter 30, in Nick, New York; Boston; London: Little, Brown and Company, page 161
2. (Internet, figuratively) To be in disbelief, or despair.