knot

[not]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR knot ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an interlacing, twining, looping, etc., of a cord, rope, or the like, drawn tight into a knob or lump, for fastening, binding, or connecting two cords together or a cord to something else.

a piece of ribbon or similar material tied or folded upon itself and used or worn as an ornament.

a group or cluster of persons or things: a knot of spectators.

the hard, cross-grained mass of wood at the place where a branch joins the trunk of a tree.

a part of this mass showing in a piece of lumber, wood panel, etc.

Anatomy, Zoology. a protuberance or swelling on or in a part or process, as in a muscle.

a protuberance in the tissue of a plant; an excrescence on a stem, branch, or root; a node or joint in a stem, especially when of swollen form.

any of various fungal diseases of trees characterized by the formation of an excrescence, knob, or gnarl.

an involved, intricate, or difficult matter; complicated problem.

Nautical.

a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile or about 1.15 statute miles per hour.
a unit of 47 feet 3 inches (13.79 meters) on a log line, marked off by knots.
a nautical mile.

a bond or tie: the knot of matrimony.

Also called joint, node. Mathematics. in interpolation, one of the points at which the values of a function are assigned.

verb (used with object), knot·ted, knot·ting.

to tie in a knot; form a knot in.

to secure or fasten by a knot.

to form protuberances, bosses, or knobs in; make knotty.

verb (used without object), knot·ted, knot·ting.

to become tied or tangled in a knot.

to form knots or joints.

Idioms

tie the knot, Informal. to marry: They will tie the knot in November.

Origin of knot

before 1000; (noun) Middle English knot(te), Old English cnotta; cognate with Dutch knot, German knoten to knit; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun

Related formsknot·less, adjectiveknot·like, adjective

Can be confusedknot not

Synonyms for knot

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR knot ON THESAURUS.COM

3. company, band, crew, gang, crowd. 7. lump, knob, gnarl. 9. perplexity, puzzle, conundrum.

knot

[not]

noun

either of two large sandpipers, Calidris canutus or C. tenuirostris, that breed in the Arctic and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Origin of knot

1425–75; late Middle English; origin uncertain

Also called grayback.

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

Related Words for knot

screw, tangle, cluster, clump, mob, swarm, knit, nexus, contortion, twist, whorl, perplexity, braid, bunch, whirl, ligature, spiral, snag, tie, warp

Examples from the Web for knot

Contemporary Examples of knot

There is something irrevocable-feeling about couples tying the knot on the steps of the county courthouse.
Gay Marriage Chaos Begins
Jay Michaelson
November 11, 2014
Every day before leaving home, Sara stands before the mirror and tightens the knot on her scarf.
Acid Attacks on Women Spread Terror in Iran
IranWire
October 18, 2014
The most famous people in the world tied the knot secretly over the weekend.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Got Married and We’re Worried About Jennifer Aniston
Kevin Fallon, Tim Teeman
August 28, 2014
The moment he was finally able to loop a knot by himself was a milestone, his first step to becoming a man.
Miami’s Chris Bosh Goes High Fashion
Justin Jones
August 13, 2014
Star-studded guests arrived in fancy cars, and music and cheers rose above the castle walls as Kimye tied the knot.
Eavesdropping On Kim and Kanye’s Florentine “Wedding of the Century”
Barbie Latza Nadeau
May 24, 2014

Historical Examples of knot

"Stand to it, my hearts of gold," said the old bowman as he passed from knot to knot.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Wherever there was a knot of midnight roisterers, they quaffed her health.
The Sister Years (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
She tied a knot with flashing eyes, as if it throttled a foe.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
All the time that she was speaking she was working at a knot in the corner of her handkerchief.
Southern Lights and Shadows
Various
There is one question that cuts the knot—that decides where you stand—and where I stand.
The Coryston Family
Mrs. Humphry Ward

British Dictionary definitions for knot

knot

noun

any of various fastenings formed by looping and tying a piece of rope, cord, etc, in upon itself, to another piece of rope, or to another object

a prescribed method of tying a particular knot

a tangle, as in hair or string

a decorative bow or fastening, as of ribbon or braid

a small cluster or huddled group

a tie or bondthe marriage knot

a difficult problem

a protuberance or lump of plant tissues, such as that occurring on the trunks of certain trees

a hard mass of wood at the point where a branch joins the trunk of a tree
a cross section of this, usually roundish and cross-grained, visible in a piece of timber

a sensation of constriction, caused by tension or nervousnesshis stomach was tying itself in knots

pathola lump of vessels or fibres formed in a part, as in a muscle
anatomya protuberance on an organ or part

a unit of speed used by nautical vessels and aircraft, being one nautical mile (about 1.15 statute miles or 1.85 km) per hour

one of a number of equally spaced knots on a log line used to indicate the speed of a ship in nautical miles per hour

at a rate of knots very fast

tie someone in knots to completely perplex or confuse someone

tie the knot informal to get married

verb knots, knotting or knotted

(tr) to tie or fasten in a knot

to form or cause to form into a knot

(tr) to ravel or entangle or become ravelled or entangled

(tr) to make (an article or a design) by tying thread in an interlaced pattern of ornamental knots, as in macramé

Derived Formsknotter, nounknotless, adjectiveknotlike, adjective

Word Origin for knot

Old English cnotta; related to Old High German knoto, Old Norse knūtr

knot

noun

a small northern sandpiper, Calidris canutus, with a short bill and grey plumage

Word Origin for knot

C15: of unknown origin

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 knot

Old English cnotta "intertwining of ropes, cords, etc.," from Proto-Germanic *knuttan- (cf. Low German knütte, Old Frisian knotta "knot," Dutch knot, Old High German knoto, German Knoten, perhaps also Old Norse knutr "knot, knob"). Figurative sense of "difficult problem" was in Old English (cf. Gordian knot). Symbolic of the bond of wedlock, early 13c. As an ornament of dress, first attested c.1400. Meaning "thickened part or protuberance on tissue of a plant" is from late 14c. The nautical unit of measure (1630s) is from the practice of attaching knotted string to the log line. The ship's speed can be measured by the number of knots that play out while the sand glass is running.

The distance between the knots on the log-line should contain 1/120 of a mile, supposing the glass to run exactly half a minute. [Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, "A Voyage to South America" 1760]

"to tie in a knot," mid-15c., from knot (n.). Related: Knotted (late 12c.), knotting.

knot in Medicine

knot

[nŏt]

n.

A compact intersection of interlaced material, as of cord, ribbon, or rope.

A protuberant growth or swelling in a tissue, such as a gland.

Idioms and Phrases with knot

knot

see tie into knots; tie the knot.