knot
UK/nɒt//nɑt/
knot noun: a looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops.
Noun (1)
knot (plural knots)
- A looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops.
- Climbers must make sure that all knots are both secure and of types that will not weaken the rope.
- The obstructive tendency attributed to the knot in spiritual matters appears in a Swiss superstition that if, in sewing a corpse into its shroud, you make a knot on the thread, it will hinder the soul of the deceased on its passage to eternity.1911, James George Frazer, chapter V, in Taboo and the Perils of the Soul (The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion; II), third edition, London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, page 310
- A tangled clump of hair or similar.
- The nurse was brushing knots from the protesting child's hair.
- A maze-like pattern.
- Flowers worthy of paradise, which, not nice art / In beds and curious knots, but nature boon / Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain.1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
- A non-self-intersecting closed curve in (e.g., three-dimensional) space that is an abstraction of a knot (in sense 1 above).
- A knot can be defined as a non-self-intersecting broken line whose endpoints coincide: when such a knot is constrained to lie in a plane, then it is simply a polygon.
- A difficult situation.
- I got into a knot when I inadvertently insulted a policeman.
- A man shall be perplexed with knots, and problems of business, and contrary affairs.1664, Robert South, A Sermon Preached Before the University at Christ-Church, Oxon
- The whorl left in lumber by the base of a branch growing out of the tree's trunk.
- When preparing to tell stories at a campfire, I like to set aside a pile of pine logs with lots of knots, since they burn brighter and make dramatic pops and cracks.
- Local swelling in a tissue area, especially skin, often due to injury.
- Jeremy had a knot on his head where he had bumped it on the bedframe.
- A tightened and contracted part of a muscle that feels like a hard lump under the skin.
- A protuberant joint in a plant.
- Any knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance.
- [T]he Queen who sat / With lips severely placid, felt the knot / Climb in her throat, […]1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Elaine”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 185
- The swelling of the bulbus glandis in members of the dog family, Canidae.
- The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter.
- the knot of the tale
Show 9 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
- A node (point at which the lines of a funicular machine meet from different angular directions)
- A kind of epaulet; a shoulder knot.
- A group of people or things.
- his ancient knot of dangerous adversariec. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
- As they sat together in small, separate knots, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief.1822, [Walter Scott], Peveril of the Peak. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC
- A bond of union; a connection; a tie.
- [I come] to crave a league of amity,
And lastly, to confirm that amity
With nuptial knot […]c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard... - [I]t were very fit, […] to observe carefully this previous betrothing of ourselves, ere we knit the knot that can never be loosed.1646, Jos[eph] Hall, The Balme of Gilead: Or, Comforts for the Distressed, both Morall and Divine. […], London: […] M[iles] Flesher, for Nat[haniel] Butter, →OCLC
- [I come] to crave a league of amity,
- A unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile per hour.
- Cedric claimed his old yacht could make 12 knots.
- Here in Franklin Bay during our first season we hurtle along at 20 knots, dodging ice floes littering the surface.1989 May, Jeff MacInnis, “Braving the Northwest Passage”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 588
- A unit of indicated airspeed, calibrated airspeed, or equivalent airspeed, which varies in its relation to the unit of speed so as to compensate for the effects of different ambient atmospheric conditions on aircraft performance.
- In the early stages of reentry, due to the extremely-rarefied air at these altitudes, the space shuttle flew at only one to a few knots equivalent airspeed, even when its actual speed was many thousands of knots.
- A nautical mile.
- Synonyms:
- nm
- The bulbus glandis.
- A group of snakes, intertwined.
- Male snakes are expected to return from hunting in September, at which point it’s expected the massive knot of snakes will hibernate and the feed will go dormant until spring.July 17, 2024, Adam Kovac, “Livestream Offers a Close-Up View of Thousands of Rattlesnakes in a ‘Mega Den’”, in Gizmodo
- I have only once come across the spectacular sight of a tightly packed knot of adders sleeping together when my dogs disturbed earth under rocks on a south-facing hillside in Glen Lyon.(Can we date this quote?), Polly Pullar, Poisonous Reputation, Scottish Field, page 107
Verb
knot (third-person singular simple present knots, present participle knotting, simple past and past participle knotted)
- To form into a knot; to tie with a knot or knots.
- We knotted the ends of the rope to keep it from unravelling.
- For many weeks about my loins I wore / The rope that haled the buckets from the well, / Twisted as tight as I could knot the noose, / And spake not of it to a single soul, / And spake not of it to a single soul, / Until the ulcer, eating through my skin, / Betray'd my secret penance, so that all /...1833 (date written), Alfred Tennyson, “St. Simeon Stylites”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 56
- To form wrinkles in the forehead, as a sign of concentration, concern, surprise, etc.
- She knotted her brow in concentration while attempting to unravel the tangled strands.
- Synonyms:
- knit
- To unite closely; to knit together.
- The party of the papists in England are become more knotted, both in dependence towards Spain, and amongst themselves.a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “Considerations Touching a Warre with Spaine. […]”, in William Rawley, editor, Certaine Miscellany Works of the Right Honourable Francis Lo. Verulam, Viscount...
- Synonyms:
- attach
- To entangle or perplex; to puzzle.
- Synonyms:
- baffle
- To form knots.
- To knit knots for a fringe.
Noun (2)
knot (plural knots or knot)
- One of a variety of shore birds; red-breasted sandpiper (variously Calidris canutus or Tringa canutus).
- My foot-boy shall eat pheasants, calvered salmons, / Knots, godwits, lampreys: I myself will have / The beards of barbels, served instead of salads […]c. 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist
knot meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
knot in Hindi
- looping
- गाँठ gā̃ṭh, गिरह girah, गिरिह girih
- tangled clump
- गाँठ gā̃ṭh
- maze-like pattern
- भूलभुलैया bhūlbhulaiyā
- (mathematics) closed curve
- कुंडली kuṇḍlī
knot in Tamil
- looping
- முடிச்சு muṭiccu, முடி muṭi
- tangled clump
- சிக்கு cikku, முடிச்சு muṭiccu
- form into a knot; tie with knot(s)
- முடி muṭi
- form wrinkles in forehead
- சுளி cuḷi
knot in Marathi
- knot, tie
- गाठ gāṭh
knot in Urdu
- looping
- گِرَہْ girah, گِرِہْ girih, گان٘ٹھ gā̃ṭh
More languagesFewer languages
- knot in Bengali
- গিঁট gĩṭ
- knot in Telugu
- ముడి muḍi
- knot in Malayalam
- കെട്ട് keṭṭŭ, പരു paru
- knot in Kannada
- ಕಣಿ, ಕಣೆ, ಗಣಿಕೆ, ಗಿಣ್ಣು
- knot in Punjabi
- ਗੰਢ gaṇḍh
- knot in Gujarati
- ગાંઠ gā̃ṭh
- knot in Odia
- ଗଣ୍ଠି gaṇṭhi, ଗଏଁଠ୍ gaẽṭh
- knot in Sanskrit
- ग्रन्थि granthi
- knot in Sinhala
- පරුව paruwa, ගැටය gæṭaya, ගැට ගසනවා gæṭa gasanawā
- knot in Assamese
- গাঁঠি gãthi
- knot in Nepali
- गाँठो gā̃ṭho
- knot in Pashto
- غوټه ǧuṭa
- knot in Tagalog
- buhol
- knot in Arabic
- عُقْدَة ʕuqda, عَقَدَ ʕaqada
- knot in Malay
- simpul
- knot in Indonesian
- buhul
- knot in Thai
- ปม bpom, เงื่อน ngʉ̂ʉan, ตาไม้ dtaa-máai, นอต nɔ́t
- knot in Vietnamese
- nút, nơ
- knot in Myanmar
- အထုံးအဖွဲ့ a.htum:a.hpwai., ရေမိုင် remuing
- Kashmiri
- گَنٛڈ ganḍ
Examples of knot in a sentence
- The ship could make 20 knots an hour in calm seas.
- He lost his patience trying to undo his shoe-lace, but tugging it made the knot even tighter.
- The Boy Scout wore a red neckerchief, the ends clasped with a sliding knot ornament.
Synonyms of knot
1 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of knot
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | knots |
| plural | knot |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | knots |
| present participle | knotting |
| past participle | knotted |
| past | knotted |
Origin of knot
From Middle English knotte, from Old English cnotta, from Proto-West Germanic *knottō, from Proto-Germanic *knuttô, *knudô (“knot”); probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnod- (“to bind”). See also Old High German knoto (German Knoten, Dutch knot, Low German Knütte; also Old Norse knútr > Danish knude, Swedish knut, Norwegian knute, Faroese knútur, Icelandic hnútur; also Latin nōdus and its Romance descendants. Doublet of knout, node, and nodus. * (unit of speed): From the practice of counting the number of knots in the logline (as it is paid out) in a standard time. Traditionally spaced at one every ¹⁄₁₂₀ of a mile.
Supposed to be derived from the name of King Canute, with whom the bird was a favourite article of food. See the specific epithet canutus.
Words formed from knot
- great knot
- red knot
- Albright knot
- alpine butterfly knot
- alternating knot
- angler's knot
- arbor knot
- Ashley's stopper knot
- Bachmann knot
- bag knot
- balloon knot
- Bantu knot
- barrel knot
- beer knot
- binding knot
- black knot
- blood knot
- bowknot
- bowstring knot
- breastknot
- burr knot
- butterfly knot
- Celtic knot
- Clytie knot
- constrictor knot
- Conway knot
- cut the Gordian knot
- cut the knot
- cystine knot
- dolly knot
- double fisherman's knot
- electrician's knot
- endknot
- English knot
- Englishman's knot
- equalizer knot
- Euro death-knot
- fat knot
- Fintushel-Stern knot
- fire-escape knot
- fireman's chair knot
- fisherman's knot
- French knot
- garlic knot
- get knotted
- get one's knickers in a knot
- get one's shorts in a knot
- Ghiordes knot
- Gordian knot
- granny knot
- grapevine knot
- grass knot
- Grecian knot
- grief knot
- hair-knot
- handcuff knot
- hobble knot
- honda knot
- human knot
- inknot
Phrases with knot
- knot off
- knot span
- love knot
- milk knot
- nail knot
- pine knot
- pump knot
- reef knot
- rose knot
- sack knot
- slip knot
- tape knot
71 more phrasesFewer phrases
- wall knot
- wood knot
- jufti knot
- knot spans
- olive knot
- Pratt knot
- slice knot
- sword knot
- thief knot
- thumb knot
- water knot
- witch knot
- knot garden
- knot theory
- Nubian knot
- Psyche knot
- Shelby knot
- shroud knot
- simple knot
- square knot
- knot diagram
- knot gardens
- pretzel knot
- running knot
- stopper knot
- Suebian knot
- Suevian knot
- tie the knot
- trefoil knot
- Turkish knot
- Windsor knot
- witch's knot
- cuts the knot
- knot diagrams
- miller's knot
- overhand knot
- porter's knot
- Stafford knot
- surfer's knot
- tied the knot
- ties the knot
- weaver's knot
- knot invariant
- Lissajous knot
- schoolboy knot
- Solomon's knot
- surgeon's knot
- true-love knot
- tying the knot
- knot invariants
- manharness knot
- shepherd's knot
- Tom Fool's knot
- waterman's knot
- cutting the knot
- stevedore's knot
- Philadelphia knot
- true lover's knot
- true lovers' knot
- underwriter's knot
- seek a knot in a bulrush
- seeks a knot in a bulrush
- got one's shorts in a knot
- sought a knot in a bulrush
- gets one's shorts in a knot
- seeking a knot in a bulrush
- got one's knickers in a knot
- gets one's knickers in a knot
- gotten one's shorts in a knot
- getting one's shorts in a knot
- getting one's knickers in a knot
Words that rhyme with knot
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- rot
- apricot
- ribat
- bot
- got
- not
- red-hot
- snot
- stot
- tot
- calotte
- jot
- a lot
- allot
- clot
- cot
- fembot
- frot
- mot
- quat
- swot
- white-hot
- begot
- cannot
- forgot
- garrote
- grot
- marotte
- not so hot
- nott
- Nouakchott
- overshot
- piping hot
- scot
- scrot
- sot
- subplot
- swat
- thot
- wot
- yacht
- asquat
- beach ball plot
- besot
- brat
- carotte
- chamotte
- chott
Questions about knot
- What does knot mean?
- Knot means a looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops.
- What is knot in Hindi?
- Knot in Hindi is गाँठ (gā̃ṭh), गिरह (girah), गिरिह (girih). See Knot meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is knot?
- Knot can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce knot?
- Knot is pronounced /nɒt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of knot?
- The plural of knot is knots.
Words near knot in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: knot (page history and authors); गाठ (Marathi) (page history and authors); കെട്ട് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); knot (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ଗଏଁଠ୍ (Odia) (page history and authors); ගැට ගසනවා (Sinhala) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-knot.ogg.
Cite this entry: “knot.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/knot. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.