close-knit
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of close-knit
First recorded in 1925–30
Explanation
Close-knit things are intimate, like a close-knit community where everyone knows each other's names and people look out for each other. Awww. The adjective close-knit is perfect for describing a group of people who are socially close. A close-knit neighborhood is very different from one in which people keep to themselves and don't really know each other or have much in common with their neighbors. And a close-knit family is familiar and united in their love for each other. A good way to remember this word is to think of a tightly (or closely) knitted sweater with no gaps or holes; the people of a close-knit community stick together in the same way, leaving no opportunities for someone to "fall through the cracks."
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They found a foothold in Elizabeth, N.J., where they joined a close-knit group of other Holocaust survivors who began building houses, and then entire neighborhoods, that formed post-war suburbs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Barnes was after all a financial adviser, living among them in the close-knit Warwickshire village - someone they all trusted.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Unlike in outbreaks in Texas, South Carolina and Arizona, the disease spread in Utah beyond close-knit communities to every state health district.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
“It was during that time that we established a close-knit friendship and we were well-received by the community as a broadcast duo.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
The lesson of Ya-Ya and John Wesley is that small, close-knit groups have the power to magnify the epidemic potential of a message or idea.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
