Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use ken in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

Ken means to give birth, conceive, beget, be born; to develop (as a fetus); to nourish, sustain (as life). Example: “As at the stok the bere; Snybbith the hardy houndis that ar ken.”

Examples of ken by meaning

verbTo know, perceive or understand.

  • It was noted by them that kenned best that her cantrips were at their worst when the tides in the Sker Bay ebbed between the hours of twelve and one.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
  • Now ah ken precisely what the cunt meant.1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 6

nounRange of perception.

  • I had somehow the impression that he was on the point of letting go the ladder to swim away beyond my ken.1909, Joseph Conrad, The Secret Sharer Chapter 1

nounKnowledge, perception, or sight.

  • These people, these 20 or 25, were in my ken.1957, United States Congressional serial set, number 11976
  • Though he was out in the streets and away from the Firm and the Firm's ken, though he had work to do and action to relieve him, he was angry.1986, John le Carré, A Perfect Spy
  • Since nothing in our ken differentiates knowledge from luck, something beyond our ken is introduced to do so.1999, Catherine Z. Elgin, Considered Judgment

nounYouth or children's group.

  • Gilboa and Habonim Dror also run year-round programming, holding regional reunions (called kenim) up and down the state2016 January 15, Dan Pine, “Hike, swim, fix the world: Kids mix it up at Gilboa camp”, in The Jewish News of Northern California
  • At the beginning of 1944 he was sent to Debreccen to operate the local ken and to organize self-defense.2007, David Gur, דוד גור, Eli Netser, Brothers for Resistance and Rescue, page 87

More sentences with ken

  • As at the stok the bere; Snybbith the hardy houndis that ar ken.From the entry snib
  • D'ye ken John Peel with his coat so grey?From the entry d'ye
  • For quotations using this term, see Citations:bousing ken.From the entry bowsing-ken
  • Ken Buck of Colorado also voted present but he is not on the Ethics Committee.2023 June 21, Haley Talbot and Kristin Wilson, “House votes to censure Democratic congressman who led Trump investigations”, in CNN. From the entry Andrew
  • Ken Barrett, a loyalist gunman who eventually confessed to killing Mr.2023 August 30, Megan K. Stack, Rob Stothard, “He Was Shot 14 Times at the Dinner Table. His Children Want to Know if Britain Ordered the…. From the entry whack
  • Kent couldn't have made it any clearer that the road to anything more than fakeship was closed.2017, Sonya Weiss, Wedding Date Rescue. From the entry fakeship
  • KENT NELSON —Until my wife Inza convinced me there was more to life.February 2012, Thomas Pugsley, Denial (episode) in Young Justice (TV series). From the entry pistol
  • And a bit of peace and quiet to eat it in, after all the din, ken.1999, Duncan McLean, Blackden. From the entry exsqueeze me
  • Mayhap we have been in the same bousing ken or stalling ken at some time.1992, Cynthia Morgan, Court of Shadows. From the entry Romeville
  • How ken ye leave me so in my old age, weak an' crippled an' highlone?1971, Ioana Sturdza, Raymond Vianu, Fairy Tales and Legends from Romania (page 145). From the entry highlone
  • I kent fin ye wis in sic a binner 'it a' wisna richt.1915, H. Beaton, Benachie, pages 50, 163. From the entry binner
  • You ken have 'em, an' from the looks o' yourn you need 'em.1914 October – 1916 July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Mucker, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., published 31 October…. From the entry yourn
  • How he escaped a broken neck in that dreadful place no human being will ever ken.1902 January, John Buchan, “The Outgoing of the Tide”, in The Watcher by the Threshold, and Other Tales, Edinburgh; London: William…. From the entry stand
  • "De'il kens," answered Gapey; "gin it binna i' the boddom o' Rob Bruce's wame."1900, George MacDonald, Alec Forbes of Howglen. From the entry binna
  • Ken” such a cringefest is the disconnect between Mr.2015 September 30, Mike Hale, “Review: In ‘Dr. Ken’ on ABC, Ken Jeong Is a Physician With Jokes”, in New York Times. From the entry cringefest
  • Ken picked up Phil and looked into his black eyes.2014, Roni Adams, Passion in Punxy, Adams Basin, N.Y.: The Wild Rose Press, →ISBN. From the entry groundhogese
  • He's like the wife's bawty—kens naething about it.2008, Alexander Hislop, The proverbs of Scotland. From the entry bawty
  • "I dinna ken, dearling," he said huskily.2006 April, Kate Forsyth, “Liberty of the Tower”, in The Shining City (Rhiannon’s Ride; 2), New York, N.Y.: Roc, →ISBN, page 81. From the entry darling
  • Ken Kavanagh believes it was 'Manxie' Laing's accident that was to bring to an end the official Norton works effort.2006, Mick Walker, The Manx Norton, page 91. From the entry Manxie
  • “I doona ken how he found us,” he muttered darkly.2005, Karen Marie Moning, Spell of the Highlander, page 122. From the entry doona
  • Ken′s mother is not the only member of the Stolen Generations to see the need to look back before looking forward.2005, Ken Isaacson, Stephanie Ford, “19: Looking forward—looking back: shaping a future”, in Claire Smith, H. Martin Wobst, editors…. From the entry Stolen Generation
  • Ken Russell's BBC film (with Vivian Pickles) and Kenneth MacMillan's Isadora ballet portrayed her as a grotesque monstre sacre.2002 January 27, Jann Parry, The Observer. From the entry monstre sacré
  • "'Ken oath, I'm so hungry I could eat the crotch out of a low flying duck," announced Jaime.2001 March 12, Sydney Webb, “Foundation and Huns - Postscript”, in soc.history.what-if (Usenet). From the entry could eat the crotch out of a low flying duck
  • Most Ecstasy hasnae any MDMA in it, it's just likesay, ken, part speed, part acid in its effects . . .1994 [1993], Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, London: Minerva, →ISBN, page 156. From the entry e
  • Ken received the Degree of Secret Master in full form and the 14th Degree of Perfection in ample form.1912, Brotherhood - Volumes 1-6, page 6. From the entry in full form
  • Kent, a member of the Columbus-based Central Ohio Gamedev Group, hopes to continue the business through college but wants to focus on school.2017 May 20, Emily Mills, “Singer, video game enthusiast, young mechanic follow their dreams”, in News Journal, Mansfield, Oh., page 4A…. From the entry gamedev
  • Ken, as an early leader of the nerd revolution, would be compelling — as would his failures to help make sci-fi be taken seriously.2013 September 16, Tim Goodman, “5 'Mad Men' Characters Whom Matt Weiner Could Spin Off — No Joke”, in The Hollywood Reporter, Los…. From the entry nerd revolution
  • Much of what McLuhan wrote and some of what Coupland relates are beyond my ken, but I don’t know about that “hole in heaven” stuff.2011 January 6, David Carr, “Marshall McLuhan: Media Savant”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry beyond one's ken
  • Johnny kenned at once the coarse brute was drunk same as father was Friday nights when he got his money from the Broo.193?, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, ‘Forsaken’, Smeddum, Canongate 2001. From the entry buroo
  • Ken Shamrock (right) is the current owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship superfight belt and will defend his title February 16 against Kimo Leopoldo.1996 March, John P. Patton, “Royce Gracie's Biggest Rival: Ken Shamrock”, in Black Belt, volume 34, number 3, page 38. From the entry superfight
  • Ken Lauer, primo surf-caster at the Outer Banks of North Carolina was also a great help, as was Joel Arrington, well-known low-country outdoor writer.1991, Frank Sargeant, The Redfish Book: A Complete Anglers Guide, →ISBN, page 3. From the entry surf-caster
  • But the bobby kens me fine--I've bailed John oot twice, for a guinea ilka time, and they recognize steady customers there like anywheres else!1919, Sir Harry Lauder, Between You and Me. From the entry ilka

Meaning of ken

  1. verb To give birth, conceive, beget, be born; to develop (as a fetus); to nourish, sustain (as life).
  2. verb To know, perceive or understand.
  3. verb To discover by sight; to catch sight of; to descry.

Full definition of ken

Questions about ken in a sentence

How do you use ken in a sentence?
Ken is used as a verb and noun. For example: “As at the stok the bere; Snybbith the hardy houndis that ar ken.”
What is a short sentence with ken?
“"I dinna ken, dearling," he said huskily.”
What does ken mean?
Ken means to give birth, conceive, beget, be born; to develop (as a fetus); to nourish, sustain (as life).

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ken (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use ken in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/ken. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.