knot1
/nɒt
/noun
1A fastening made by looping a piece of string, rope, or something similar on itself and tightening it: tie a knot at the end of the cord figurative a complicated knot of racial politics and pride...
- He tightened the knot on his tie and brushed an imagined piece of lint off his uniform jacket.
- It is a good idea to tie knots in the rope or cloth about 1 ft. apart, this will provide a more secure climbing surface.
- It is simple enough to tie a knot in a piece of string.
Synonyms
tie, twist, loop, bow, splice, splicing, join, link, fastening, bond, intertwinement, interlacement, ligature, joint, connection;
tangle, entanglement
1.1A particular method of making a knot: you need to master two knots, the clove hitch and the sheet bend...
- The construction of fishing nets is similar to that of recent years and it is only necessary to master the use of only two knots: the clove-hitch and the sheet-bend.
- Rebecca came and stood behind him watching with great pleasure as he mastered the perfect knot.
- For attaching your leader to fly line, my advice is use the simple nail knot.
1.2An ornamental ribbon.
2A tangled mass in something such as hair or wool.Her hair was tangled in knots, she was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot....
- This braid is a lot more difficult to accomplish if your hair has tangles or knots.
- His brown hair was an unruly mass of tangles and knots.
3A knob, protuberance, or node in a stem, branch, or root.Nematodes are microscopic roundworms that attack plant roots and cause large knots....
- After peeling the bark, the knots where the branches were need to be sanded to a very smooth finish.
- These growths, or knots, shut off water and nutrients to the branch, which eventually wilts, dries up and dies.
Synonyms
nodule, gnarl, knurl, node, lump, knob, swelling, growth, gall, protuberance, bump
archaic knar
3.1A hard mass formed in a tree trunk at the intersection with a branch, resulting in a round cross-grained piece in timber when cut through.Longitudinal sections of tree trunks contain knots that preserve the history of branching and can be used to interpret stand dynamics....
- The casket was made from boards with no knots from an evergreen tree.
- Daniel ran a hand through his hair and stared at the cedar desk, absently tracing a knot in the wood with his finger.
3.2A hard lump of tissue in the body.I smacked my arm into a doorknob really hard, and there's a knot in the muscle of the forearm now....
- Then his hands began to work into Jake's muscles gently and slowly working out knots and tension.
- From a seated position, curl one dumbbell up, feeling the muscles in your arm bunch up in a strong, searing knot as you reach the top and pause.
4An unpleasant feeling of tightness or tension in a part of the body: her stomach was in knots as she unlocked the door...
- Peter gulped down a tense, hard knot that had formed in the back of his throat.
- Fear tied a knot in her stomach, and she tried to force it down.
- He glared at me and I felt a tight knot in my stomach.
5A small tightly packed group of people: a knot of spectators was gathering...
- Back in the pub, a knot of Scots to the side of the big screen became as bored as the English fans with a less-than-exciting match.
- A knot of people gathered in Main Street to watch the waters slowly begin to rise again.
- After a short time they came across a knot of people gathered outside a church.
Synonyms
cluster, group, band, huddle, bunch, circle, ring, set, collection;
party, gathering, company, crowd, throng, swarm, host, flock, gang, assemblage, mob, pack
6A unit of speed equivalent to one nautical mile per hour, used especially of ships, aircraft, or winds.The area had been hit by heavy rainstorms with wind speeds of about 10 knots per hour, which had caused the sea level to rise by about 1.5 meters....
- Winds of 76 knots or 140 kph were recorded at the Naval Weather and Oceanography Centre on the Sunday afternoon.
- There had been a storm warning at 1.15 p.m., with the wind speed touching 50 knots and the waves rising up to 25 feet.
6.1chiefly historical A length marked by knots on a log line, as a measure of speed: some days the vessel logged 12 knots
verb (knots, knotting, knotted) [with object]
1Fasten with a knot: the scarves were knotted loosely around their throats (as adjective knotted) a knotted rope...
- It would make a big difference if people would just followed simple steps such as putting all rubbish in a black bin bag, which should be knotted to prevent any overspill.
- He had been strangled with a piece of a T-shirt which had been knotted at the back of his neck.
- Investigators also found some ties that had been knotted together and believe Yu had intended to use them as a rope before deciding to use electrical cord instead.
Synonyms
tie, make/tie a knot in, make a bow in, loop, lace;
fasten, secure, bind, make fast, tie up, do up, lash, tether
1.1Make (a carpet or other decorative item) with knots.The carpets on display range from the Dhurri / Kelim type to very fine hand knotted ones with more than 36,000 knots per square foot....
- For example, the necklace is composed of nine different strands of woodchip coco beads, knotted by hand.
- People, often children, are forced to do demeaning and often health destroying jobs. Try knotting Oriental carpets all day and see how long you keep your sight.
2Make (something, especially hair) tangled: (as adjective knotted) he brushed through his knotted hair...
- Her beautiful brown hair was tangled and knotted.
- She had long, brown hair that was knotted and unwashed.
- The man was about thirty and unshaven, his unkempt, blonde hair knotted like some Rastafarian.
Synonyms
tangled, tangly, knotty, entangled, matted, snarled, ravelled, twisted, entwined, coiled, unkempt, uncombed, tousled
informal mussed up
3Cause (a muscle) to become tense and hard.She went to the bathroom to run a hot bath to help release what she thought was knotted muscles....
- After about 10 minutes, I felt muscles knotted from a 12-week training schedule start to loosen up.
- Electricity is also used to stimulate tense and knotted muscles.
3.1 [no object] (Of the stomach) tighten as a result of nervousness or tension.Donna can feel her stomach knotting in anticipation....
- He plodded along, his stomach knotting more and more with each step.
- She glanced at the signature first, her stomach knotting as the glance confirmed it was from Phillip.
Phrases
at a rate of knots
get knotted
tie someone (up) in knots
tie the knot
Derivatives
knotless
- Fifteen minutes later and 280 yards from the original point of capture the most fantastic example of a sea-trout I had ever seen lay nestling in the folds of my knotless mesh landing net.
- In freshwater fishing I use a knotless tapered leader.
- She separated a section of knotless hair from a tangled section and started picking at the ball of hair.
knotter
- He started work as a ‘reacher in’ at Kelbrook Bridge Mill, threading the warp yarns and passing the ends on to the knotter.
Origin
Old English cnotta, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch knot.
The words knot and knit, both Old English, are closely related. Something travelling fast might be described as going at a rate of knots. A knot here is a measure of speed, equivalent to one nautical mile an hour. In the days of sailing ships a line with knots tied at fixed intervals and a float at the end was run out into the sea over a certain time to gauge the ship's speed. If the line unwound very rapidly, with each knot appearing in quick succession, then the ship was going ‘at a rate of knots’. See also natty
Rhymes
knot2
/nɒt/noun (plural same or knots)
A small, relatively short-billed sandpiper, with a reddish-brown or blackish breast in the breeding season.
- Genus Calidris, family Scolopacidae: two species, in particular the red knot (C. canutus), which breeds in the Arctic and winters in the southern hemisphere.
- The Humber Estuary supports more than 150,000 birds each year including knot, lapwing, golden plover and breeding little terns.
- Many immature avocets spend their first summer after fledging well south of breeding areas, as do immature grey plovers, bar-tailed godwits and knot.
Origin
Late Middle English: of unknown origin.