Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Knee jerk

Knee jerk

(Physiology) A jerk or forward kick of the lower part of the leg produced by a blow or sudden strain upon the patellar tendon of the knee, which causes a sudden contraction of the quadriceps muscle; the patellar reflex.

Knee jerk , noun

emotional and predictable; -- of certain people and their reactions to events.