bight

[ bahyt ]

/ baɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bight ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

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

a body of water bounded by such a bend.

a bay or gulf.

verb (used with object)

to fasten with a bight of rope.

Nearby words

biggs, biggy, bighead, bighorn, bighorn mountains, bight, bigleaf maple, bigly, bigmouth, bigmouth buffalofish, bigmouthed

Origin of bight

before 1000; Middle English byght, Old English byht bend, bay; cognate with Dutch bocht, German Bucht; akin to bow¹

Can be confused

bight bite byte

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bight

Humans, however, are rarely seen—the Bight is more than man can chew...
It’s a Big, Big World: Sights That Make You Feel Small|Lonely Planet|December 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
If he comes over now, observed Bight, he gits his medicine in a hurry.
Frank Merriwell's Triumph|Burt L. Standish
Coming unexpectedly on an opening in the Bight, first a boat and then a ship at anchor rushed upon the view.
The Australian Explorers|George Grimm
Take the end under the lower standing part, up over the cross, and down through the bight.
The Seaman's Friend|Richard Henry Dana

Enlarge loop of bight by drawing through enough running rope to form a diamond of sufficient size to hold top of load.
Packing and Portaging|Dillon Wallace
The brig tended to the trades, the tides having very little influence on her, in the bight of the reef where she lay.
Jack Tier or The Florida Reef|James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for bight (1 of 2)

bight

/ (baɪt) /

noun

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

the slack middle part of an extended rope

a curve or loop in a rope

verb

(tr) to fasten or bind with a bight

Word Origin for bight

Old English byht; see bow ²

British Dictionary definitions for bight (2 of 2)

Bight

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Science definitions for bight

bight

[ bīt ]

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.