bight

[bahyt]

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.

Origin of bight

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

Can be confusedbight bite byte

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

Related Words for bight

angle, inlet, gulf, bayou, road, noose, loop

Examples from the Web for bight

Contemporary Examples of 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

Historical Examples of bight

All busy preparing for a start for the Head of the Bight to-morrow.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
Bight hours was the time Mr. Gladstone permitted himself to sleep.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
It has a seacoast of about 200 miles on the Bight of Biafra.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
On the 28th of August came the battle off the Bight of Helgoland.
The Story of the Great War, Volume II (of VIII)
Various
But at the last moment he managed to clutch the bight of the hanging rope.
Romance
Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer

British Dictionary definitions for bight

bight

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

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

Word Origin and History for bight

Old English byht "bend, angle, corner" (related to bow), from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (cf. Middle Low German bucht, German Bucht, Dutch bocht, Danish bught "bight, bay"), from PIE root *bheug- (3) "to bend," with derivatives referring to bent, pliable, or curved objects (cf. Old English beag, Old High German boug "ring;" see bow (v.)). Sense of "indentation on a coastline" is from late 15c.

bight in Science

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.