know one's place en · VERB
Etymology
know (“to be aware of”) + one's place (“one's current position in life”)
Meanings
-
To understand one's rank or status and behave accordingly; to act humbly.
Had he been taught early and thoroughly to know his place, and be content with his faculty, he would have been one of the happiest and most serviceable of men.
1871 September 1, John Ruskin, “Letter IX”, in Fors Clavigera. Letters to the Workmen and Labourers of Great Britain, volume I, Orpington, Kent: George Allen, →OCLC, page 7:Your civilization has seen its final days. You will know your place.
2007 September 25, Bungie, Halo 3, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox 360, level/area: Terminal Five (Heroic):
- (as a racist dog whistle or euphemism, sometimes) To understand one's rank or status and behave accordingly; to act humbly. ▸ To avoid intermixing and interacting with people of other races.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| knowing one's place | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| knew one's place | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| known one's place | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| knows one's place | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Coordinates
learn one's place · teach one's place · teach one's place · learn one's place
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
know some manners · know some manners · stay in one's lane · stay in one's lane
Translations (7)
sv veta hut (act humbly according to one's rank) · hu tudja a helyét (act humbly according to one's rank) · it saper stare al proprio posto (act humbly according to one's rank) · ja 自分の立場をわきまえる (act humbly according to one's rank) · sv veta sin plats (act humbly according to one's rank) · ru знать своё ме́сто (act humbly according to one's rank) · id tahu diri (act humbly according to one's rank)