knitting

[ nit-ing ]

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that knits.
2. the act of forming a fabric by looping a continuous yarn.
3. knitted knitted work.

knitting

/ ˈnɪtɪŋ /

noun

1. 1. knitted work or the process of producing it
   2. ( as modifier )

      a knitting machine

Word History and Origins

Origin of knitting¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; knit, -ing ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. stick / tend to one's knitting,
   1. to mind one's own business:

      Don't worry about my work—just tend to your knitting.

   2. to devote oneself to one's assignments or responsibilities:

      Years of sticking to his knitting finally paid off.

Example Sentences

Some people have taken up knitting to deal with our increasingly homebound lives during the coronavirus pandemic.

From Washington Post

The sky’s the limit and winter’s long, so get your needles and get knitting.

From Popular-Science

Nearby was her purple reflective yarn for knitting and a pencil drawing of Heather.

From Washington Post

His British-born mother ran a knitting business from the tenement where he grew up with three siblings.

From Washington Post

To manage the complexity, we divided the tasks, each knitting half of the necessary polygonal faces before we sewed all the pieces together.

From MIT Technology Review

More than secular nationalist movements or industrial interests or mental illness or knitting groups?

From The Daily Beast

She could have auditioned to be the tavern wench or a faerie; instead, she signed on as a merchant, knitting chain-mail bikinis.

From The Daily Beast

Fanning, ever the old soul, returned the gestures by knitting the veteran actors scarves.

From The Daily Beast

I had a lot of knitted caps courtesy of the hospital volunteers and even my own knitting.

From The Daily Beast

Sure, they have the knitting around the ankles and the waistbands.

From The Daily Beast

Mrs. Ducksmith gathered up her knitting and retired, Aristide dashing to the door to open it for her.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Ducksmith shot a timid glance at him and the knitting needles clicked together nervously.

From Project Gutenberg

Mrs. Ducksmith blushed and, to conceal her face, bent it over her resumed knitting.

From Project Gutenberg

"Oh," she exclaimed carelessly, and went on knitting, drawing closer to the lamplight.

From Project Gutenberg

They found the old woman alone, knitting in her rustic chair in her floral bower on the roof.

From Project Gutenberg