phrasal verb / idiom · formal
bring to one's knees
/brɪŋ tə wʌnz niːz/BRING·to·one's·KNEES
speakingtask2
to make someone or something very weak or unable to function; to defeat completely
Examples
“The global recession brought many small businesses to their knees.”
“Rapid inflation brought the household budget to its knees.”
“The scandal nearly brought the company to its knees.”
Band 8 sentence
“Prolonged trade restrictions brought the regional economy to its knees, undermining years of development.”
Collocations
- bring someone/something to their knees
- brought to its knees by
Word family
bring (v) verbbrought (v, past) verb
Common mistakes
bring to knees→bring to one's knees
bring to knee→bring to one's knees
Say it for a higher band
5hurt badly→6devastate→7+bring to one's knees
Synonyms
devastate
cripple
Easily confused
devastate
“The tsunami devastated the coastal towns.”
Related words
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