knight

[ nahyt ]

/ naɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR knight ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a mounted soldier serving under a feudal superior in the Middle Ages.

(in Europe in the Middle Ages) a man, usually of noble birth, who after an apprenticeship as page and squire was raised to honorable military rank and bound to chivalrous conduct.

any person of a rank similar to that of the medieval knight.

a man upon whom the nonhereditary dignity of knighthood is conferred by a sovereign because of personal merit or for services rendered to the country. In Great Britain he holds the rank next below that of a baronet, and the title Sir is prefixed to the Christian name, as in Sir John Smith.

a member of any order or association that designates its members as knights.

Chess. a piece shaped like a horse's head, moved one square vertically and then two squares horizontally or one square horizontally and two squares vertically.

Nautical.

a short vertical timber having on its head a sheave through which running rigging is rove.
any other fitting or erection bearing such a sheave.

verb (used with object)

to dub or make (a man) a knight.

Nearby words

knife-edged, knife-point, knifeman, knifepoint, kniferest, knight, knight bachelor, knight banneret, knight errant, knight errantry, knight in shining armor

Origin of knight

before 900; Middle English; Old English cniht boy, manservant; cognate with German, Dutch knecht servant

Related forms

knight·less, adjectiveun·knight·ed, adjective

Can be confused

knight night

Definition for knight (2 of 2)

Knight

[ nahyt ]

/ naɪt /

noun

Eric,1897–1943, U.S. novelist, born in England.

Frank Hy·ne·man

[hahy-nuh-muh n] /ˈhaɪ nə mən/, 1885–1972, U.S. economist.

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

Examples from the Web for knight

So she lies to the knight, telling him Madalena is sorry and wants him back.
‘Galavant’: A Drunken, Horny Musical Fairy Tale|Melissa Leon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Knight and Farrell were both fired from the New Orleans Police Department before they gravitated to Duke.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Scalise was a state representative old enough to remember the notoriety of Farrell and Knight from years before.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“Poor Steve Scalise is getting a bad rap,” Knight, a long-time aide to former KKK leader David Duke, told The Daily Beast.
GOP Boss Gets Help From ‘White Hate’ Pal|Tim Mak|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Over dinner, the Knight had mentioned that Scalise had spoken before the EURO event.
GOP Boss Gets Help From ‘White Hate’ Pal|Tim Mak|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The knight sprang round the horse as quick as lightning, and, brandishing his sword, struck at Kuhleborn's head.
Undine|Friedrich de la Motte Fouque
The knight's sword struck the squire's shield just above the upper leathern loop that held it to the wearer's arm.
The Winning of the Golden Spurs|Percy F. Westerman
He partook, in a way, of the knight's fate, for it seemed as though he must be overcome in spite of himself.
Barbara Lynn|Emily J. Jenkinson
He first appears in Castle Dangerous as "Knight of the tomb."
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1|The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.
"Troth now, my first wife had just such another finger," said the knight.
Captain Ravenshaw|Robert Neilson Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for knight (1 of 2)

knight

/ (naɪt) /

noun

(in medieval Europe)

(originally) a person who served his lord as a mounted and heavily armed soldier
(later) a gentleman invested by a king or other lord with the military and social standing of this rank

(in modern times) a person invested by a sovereign with a nonhereditary rank and dignity usually in recognition of personal services, achievements, etc. A British knight bears the title Sir placed before his name, as in Sir Winston Churchill

a chess piece, usually shaped like a horse's head, that moves either two squares horizontally and one square vertically or one square horizontally and two squares vertically

a heroic champion of a lady or of a cause or principle

a member of the Roman class of the equites

verb

(tr) to make (a person) a knight; dub

Word Origin for knight

Old English cniht servant; related to Old High German kneht boy

British Dictionary definitions for knight (2 of 2)

Knight

/ (naɪt) /

noun

Dame Laura. 1887–1970, British painter, noted for her paintings of Gypsies, the ballet, and the circus

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

Culture definitions for knight

knight

A mounted warrior in Europe in the Middle Ages. (See chivalry.)

Note

Over the centuries, knighthood gradually lost its military functions, but it has survived as a social distinction in Europe, especially in England.

knight

noun

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Origin of knight

Related forms

Can be confused

Definition for knight (2 of 2)

Knight

noun

Examples from the Web for knight

British Dictionary definitions for knight (1 of 2)

knight

noun

verb

Word Origin for knight

British Dictionary definitions for knight (2 of 2)

Knight

noun

Culture definitions for knight

knight

Note