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• bight
  bight

  noun

  the middle part of a rope, as distinguished from the ends.
• Bight
  Bight

  noun

  the major indentation of the S coast of Australia, from Cape Pasley in W Australia to the Eyre Peninsula in S Australia

bight

American  

[bahyt] / baɪt /

noun

1. the middle part of a rope, as distinguished from the ends.

2. the loop or bent part of a rope, as distinguished from the ends.

3. a bend or curve in the shore of a sea or river.

4. a body of water bounded by such a bend.

5. a bay or gulf.

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verb (used with object)

• bights,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bighted,
  past participle,  past
• bighting
  present participle

1. to fasten with a bight of rope.

bight ¹ British  

/ baɪt /

noun

1. a wide indentation of a shoreline, or the body of water bounded by such a curve

2. the slack middle part of an extended rope

3. a curve or loop in a rope

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verb

1. (tr) to fasten or bind with a bight

Bight ² British  

noun

1. In full: the Great Australian Bight. informal the major indentation of the S coast of Australia, from Cape Pasley in W Australia to the Eyre Peninsula in S Australia

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bight Scientific  

/ bīt /

1. A long, gradual bend or curve in a shoreline. A bight can be larger than a bay, or it can be a segment of a bay.

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• bighting
  present
• bighted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bight
  simple
• bights
  simple
• have bighted
  perfect
• has bighted
  perfect
• am bighting
  progressive
• are bighting
  progressive
• is bighting
  progressive
• have been bighting
  perfect progressive
• has been bighting
  perfect progressive

Past

• bighted
  simple
• had bighted
  perfect
• was bighting
  progressive
• were bighting
  progressive
• had been bighting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bight
  simple
• will have bighted
  perfect
• will be bighting
  progressive
• will have been bighting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of bight

First recorded before 1000; Middle English byght, Old English byht “bend, bay”; cognate with Dutch bocht, German Bucht; akin to bow ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bight Bight bights bighted

Equinor was first granted a petroleum title over areas in the bight in 2011.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 18, 2019

Even with a young team, the Anteaters advanced to the Big West Tournament final, so the future should be bight.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 11, 2018

The shallow bight, more than a mile wide in places, runs east to west and cuts Andros roughly in half.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 14, 2015

The boardwalk weaves along the bight from the ferry terminal on Grinnell to the end of Front Street.

From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2015

As she left Camp Four at the front of Fischer’s group, Lopsang abruptly pulled her aside and girth-hitched a bight of rope to the front of her climbing harness.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

RWE said it has agreed to relinquish its leases off the California and Louisiana coasts as well as in the New York Bight.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Previous research in the area indicates that blooms of cannonball jellyfish occur nearshore in the South Atlantic Bight primarily during the spring, which coincides with leatherbacks overwintering and nesting stages of their migration cycle.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2024

In Australia, marsupials abound: A snarling Tasmanian devil stands before craggy Cradle Mountain, while a stubby brown wombat surveils the Great Australian Bight.

From New York Times ● Dec. 10, 2023

About: A stepping-off point for Kangaroo Island, the Great Australian Bight and the Nullarbor Plain, Adelaide is within easy driving distance of South Australia’s most prestigious vineyards in the Barossa and McLaren Vale.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2023

Near the town is a natural harbour called the Bight.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 1 "Evangelical Church Conference" to "Fairbairn, Sir William" by Various

The map was full of promises of the undiscovered, coves and lookout points, brooks and bights each harboring a secret second chance.

From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2016

"A couple of rope spans round the plank and their bights slipped over the hook of the lower block, and the trick's done."

From The Nameless Island A Story of some Modern Robinson Crusoes by Percy F. (Percy Francis) Westerman

A "knot board," showing the various knots tied perfectly and names attached, ends of rope whipped, bights, loops and coils, is an interesting bit of work for a Troop of Girl Scouts to do.

From Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts by Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon

I was, however, deceived, the gulf ended in two bights, or inlets, unconnected with other waters: so we returned to Still-hope Point and hauled up the boat.

From Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836 Volume I. - Proceedings of the First Expedition, 1826-1830 by Robert Fitzroy

A few weeks after this episode the Hoboken was slowly wending her way along the bights of the Bahamas.

From Willis the Pilot by Paul Adrien

“You don’t want to end up with a bighted community as a result of trying to implement drastic water conservation measures,” Fraser said.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 14, 2015

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