clove hitch

noun

a knot or hitch for fastening a rope to a spar or larger rope, consisting of two half hitches made in opposite directions, the two parts of the rope emerging also in opposite directions.

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Also called builder's knot.

Origin of clove hitch

First recorded in 1760–70; see origin at clove³

Words nearby clove hitch

cloudy swelling, clouet, clough, clout, clove, clove hitch, clove oil, clove pink, clovelly, cloven, cloven hoof

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for clove hitch

Round turn, two half-hitches, and clove-hitch: These are very useful in securing the guys of a gin to the stakes, etc.
The Gunner's Examiner|Harold E. Cloke
Or, take a clove-hitch over the crown on each arm or fluke, stopping the end to its own part, or to the shank.
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
Take this silk rope, Gomez, and clove-hitch it well up the trunk.
Captain Brand of the "Centipede"|H. A. (Henry Augustus) Wise
Then take one of the bights formed by the clove-hitch and put it over the other.
The Seaman's Friend|Richard Henry Dana

Or, take a clove-hitch over the crown, stopping the end to its own part, or to the shank.
The Seaman's Friend|Richard Henry Dana

British Dictionary definitions for clove hitch

clove hitch

noun

a knot or hitch used for securing a rope to a spar, post, or larger rope

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