knot
knot Lexical Profile
knot Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A fastening made by looping and pulling tight a piece of string, rope, or cord, either onto itself or around another object.
"The sailor tied a secure knot in the mooring line before stepping onto the dock."
A unit of speed used in maritime and air navigation, equal to one nautical mile per hour (approximately 1.15 statute miles per hour or 1.85 kilometers per hour).
"The research vessel maintained a steady speed of twelve knots across the calm bay."
A hard, round, dark-colored mass in a piece of wood or lumber where a branch was once attached to the trunk.
"The carpenter sanded carefully around the dark knot in the pine board."
A tight, uncomfortable feeling of tension in the stomach or throat caused by anxiety, fear, or excitement, or a small tight lump in a muscle.
"She felt a nervous knot in her stomach just before walking onto the stage to deliver her keynote address."
A stocky, medium-sized migratory sandpiper (genus Calidris, especially the red knot, Calidris canutus) of the family Scolopacidae, which breeds in the Arctic tundra and winters along coastal mudflats worldwide.
"Flocks of migrating knots gathered along the tidal flats to feed on small mollusks and crustaceans."
• verb
To fasten, secure, or tie together with a knot or knots.
"He knotted the silk scarf loosely around his neck before heading out into the brisk autumn air."
To become tangled, matted, or tensely contracted (especially of hair, threads, or muscles).
"Her shoulders knotted with tension after hours of working at the computer."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'knot' with its homophone 'not' (an adverb of negation) or 'naught' (meaning nothing).
• Rhymes for knot
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old English 'cnotta', from Proto-Germanic '*knuttō', referring to a lump, ball, or interlaced fastening. The nautical speed sense arose in the 17th century from counting the knots tied at regular intervals along a log line let out behind a moving ship.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.