noun
knot
not
noun
1
A fastening made by looping and tightening a piece of string, rope, or similar material.
"He tied a tight knot to secure the tent to the ground."
2
A hard, tight lump in a muscle, or a tangled clump of hair.
"Years of stress had left a knot in her shoulder."
3
A unit of speed equal to one nautical mile per hour, used for ships and aircraft.
"The yacht was cruising at a steady twelve knots."
verb
1
To tie something into a knot.
"She knotted the laces so they wouldn't come undone."
How to Use Knot
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA tied loop in rope or string, a tight lump (like in a muscle), or, at sea, a unit of speed.
Common mistake
Don't confuse the speed unit "knot" with "miles per hour" — a knot already means nautical miles per hour, so phrases like "knots per hour" are redundant.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
tie a knot
a knot in your stomach
travelling at X knots
Word Forms
knotted past tense, knots plural, knots plural, knot plural, knots singular
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He tied a tight _____ to secure the tent to the ground.
Etymology
From Old English cnotta, "knot," from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to bind."