take a knee

Verb

take a knee (third-person singular simple present takes a knee, present participle taking a knee, simple past took a knee, past participle taken a knee)

1. To come to rest, usually briefly, with one of one's knees on the ground.
   • Levon Berry, a 288-pound tackle for S. Pete, decided to take a knee and adjust the adhesive tape that's wrapped around his street shoes.1972 November 6, Tim Wood, “Tale of the tape and dig those shoes”, in The Tampa Times, page 31
   • "Take a knee, take a knee," he said as each group came to him. Brennan knelt to Bonow's right. He plucked a few blades of grass and sucked them, tasting dirt and fertilizer and lime.1987, Joseph Monninger, Second Season, page 142
2. (Canadian) Of any player with the ball, to kneel and place the ball on the ground, thereby ending the play and indicating they do not intend to advance with the ball.
   • The N.F.L. estimates that number could rise to 30 percent, but special-teams coaches say at least 40 percent of kickoffs will end with the returner taking a knee in the end zone.2011 August 6, Judy Battista, “Take a Knee or Take a Risk”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2021
3. To cease performing customary activities or duties and kneel on one knee, sometimes as a form of protest.
   • Former Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said Wednesday night that officers "took a knee" after the April riots following the death of Freddie Gray, allowing crime to spike because they felt a lack of support from commanders.2015 September 2, “Anthony Batts says police 'took a knee' after Baltimore riots”, in Baltimore Sun
   • Likewise, when black players take a knee during the national anthem to protest police violence against African-Americans, they are making a gesture of pain and distress. They are putting America in a more honest context — our “Star-Spangled Banner” dimly seen through the mists of deep injury.2017 September 25, Lee Siegel, “Why Kaepernick Takes the Knee”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2021
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see take, knee.
   • During the play he took a knee to the helmet.