knot
knot — noun
1. a shape made by looping and pulling tight a piece of string, rope, or similar ma
a shape made by looping and pulling tight a piece of string, rope, or similar material to hold things in place.
The sailor taught Sade how to tie a strong knot in the rope.
collocation: tie a knot
Christopher checked the knot on his shoelace before the race began.
collocation: knot on [object]
The knot in the necklace chain was so tiny that Bao could not undo it.
Yumi tied a double knot to make sure the parcel would not come open.
collocation: double knot
A simple knot held the fishing net closed while the fisherman pulled in the catch.
- tie a knot
- undo a knot
- loosen a knot
- tighten a knot
- double knot
- strong knot
- knot in the rope
Grammar Patterns
tie/undo a knot
knot in [rope/string]
Common Mistakes
2. a twisted, tight lump that appears in hair, thread, wool, or similar thin materi
a twisted, tight lump that appears in hair, thread, wool, or similar thin material when it snarls up on itself and becomes hard to separate.
Tara spent an hour brushing the knots out of her daughter's long hair.
collocation: brush knots out of hair
The kitten had got a knot of wool tangled tightly around its paw.
Trang found a knot of old string tangled at the bottom of her grandmother's sewing drawer.
collocation: knot of string/wool
A knot of hair had formed behind Élise's ear from her ponytail rubbing the pillow.
The wool had rolled into tight knots that Gabriela had to cut apart with scissors.
- knot of hair
- knot of wool
- brush out knots
- cut through a knot
Grammar Patterns
knot of [hair/string/wool]
3. a small, closely gathered group of people who are standing together, usually for
a small, closely gathered group of people who are standing together, usually for a short time and in a particular spot.
A knot of tourists stood outside the museum waiting for the doors to open.
collocation: a knot of tourists
Dahlia noticed a knot of children gathered around the ice-cream cart at the park.
Small knots of people formed on the street corners after the fireworks ended.
collocation: knots of people
Kian pushed through a knot of reporters to reach the front door of the courthouse.
A knot of parents waited by the school gate at three o'clock for pick-up time.
- a knot of people
- a knot of tourists
- small knots
- knots of onlookers
Grammar Patterns
a knot of [people/tourists/children]
4. a round, dark spot on a cut piece of timber that shows where a branch used to gr
a round, dark spot on a cut piece of timber that shows where a branch used to grow from the tree trunk; this area is typically harder and denser than the wood around it.
Gabriela ran her finger over the rough knot in the old wooden table.
collocation: knot in the wood
The pine board had several dark knots running along its surface near the centre.
Mira chose a piece of wood without any knots for her new bookshelf project.
A large knot near the plank's edge made sawing through it difficult.
The carpenter filled the knot with putty before painting the cabinet door.
collocation: fill a knot
- knot in the wood
- dark knot
- rough knot
- fill a knot
- a board with knots
Grammar Patterns
knot in the wood
piece of wood with knots
Usage Note
Subject is usually wood or a wooden object. A knot can make the wood harder to cut or shape and may fall out over time, leaving a hole.
Common Mistakes
❌ 'There is a knot in the rope.' (when referring to wood) — for wood, use 'a knot in the wood/board'; for rope, use 'a knot in the rope'.
5. a standard used by sailors, pilots, and weather forecasters to say how fast a ve
a standard used by sailors, pilots, and weather forecasters to say how fast a vessel, plane, or wind is moving; one knot works out to roughly 1.85 kilometres per hour.
The ferry crossed the channel at a steady speed of eighteen knots.
pattern: [number] + knots
Strong winds of up to forty knots pushed the yacht dangerously close to the rocks.
application: wind speed
The aircraft cruised at five hundred knots thirty thousand feet above the Atlantic.
Alessia checked the gauge and saw the boat was doing twenty-two knots across the bay.
Ten knots is about eighteen and a half kilometres per hour.
- [number] knots
- at [number] knots
- wind speed of [number] knots
Grammar Patterns
[number] knots
at [number] knots
Usage Note
Unlike kilometres per hour or miles per hour, 'knot' is used without a preposition such as 'per hour'. For example, 'The ship travels at twenty knots' — not 'twenty knots per hour'. The abbreviation is 'kn'.
Common Mistakes
6. an uncomfortable, constricted feeling that people experience in their stomach, t
an uncomfortable, constricted feeling that people experience in their stomach, throat, or chest when they are very nervous, frightened, angry, or sad.
Sade felt a knot in her stomach while waiting for her exam results.
collocation: a knot in the stomach
Christopher tried to speak, but a knot in his throat stopped the words.
collocation: a knot in the throat
Bao felt the tight knot of anger loosen in his chest as he breathed slowly.
collocation: knot of [emotion]
A hard knot of anxiety grew in Tara's stomach the night before the job interview.
Yumi swallowed hard, trying to ease the knot in her throat before the meeting.
- a knot in the stomach
- a knot in the throat
- a knot of anxiety
- a knot of fear
- loosen the knot
- ease the knot
Grammar Patterns
a knot in [body part]
knot of [emotion]
Usage Note
This sense is almost always singular and attached to a specific body part ('knot in my stomach / throat / chest'). The 'knot' is not a physical lump but a feeling of tightness. Common with emotions such as anxiety, fear, anger, and grief.
Common Mistakes
tie the knot
idiomto get married.
After dating for five years, Mira and Kian finally decided to tie the knot last summer.
to become very worried, confused, or upset about something.
Sade tied herself in knots worrying about whether she had passed the driving test.
at a rate of knots
idiomvery quickly (mainly British English).
The children ate their dinner at a rate of knots and ran back outside to play.
To cause someone or yourself to become very confused or anxious.
The complicated instructions tied Maya up in knots before her exam.
Did the math problem tie you in knots too?
knot — verb
1. to fasten something by making a knot in it, or to join two pieces of string, rop
to fasten something by making a knot in it, or to join two pieces of string, rope, or ribbon together by forming a knot.
Kian carefully knotted his tie and checked it in the mirror before leaving.
transitive: knot + object
Trang knotted the red ribbons together to form a pretty bow on the gift box.
pattern: knot + object + together
The fisherman knotted the torn edges of the net with quick, practised hands.
Élise knotted the scarf loosely around her neck before stepping out into the cold wind.
pattern: knot + object + around
This type of rope knots easily and holds its shape well even in wet weather.
intransitive usage
- knot a tie
- knot a scarf
- knot together
- knot around
- knot tightly
Grammar Patterns
knot + object
knot + object + together
knot + object + around/on
Usage Note
When used transitively, the object is the material being knotted (thread, rope, tie, scarf) or the thing being joined together. The intransitive use describes how well a material can be formed into knots ('This cord knots easily').
Common Mistakes
2. to become tight, hard, and pulled together in a lump — used especially of muscle
to become tight, hard, and pulled together in a lump — used especially of muscles tightening due to tension, or of hair or thread forming tangles.
The muscles in Christopher's shoulders knotted with tension after a long day at work.
intransitive: muscles + knot
Sade's stomach knotted as she listened to the sound of the ambulance approaching.
Mira's hair knotted into damp clumps after she swam in the salt water.
Hassan's jaw knotted with worry when the doctor mentioned the need for surgery.
Bao's stomach knotted with hunger as the smell of grilled meat filled the kitchen.
collocation: stomach knots with [emotion/sensation]
- muscles knot
- stomach knots
- shoulders knot
- knot with tension
- knot with anxiety
- relax
used especially for muscles
Grammar Patterns
[body part] + knots
[material] + knots
Usage Note
This sense is typically intransitive and describes an involuntary physical reaction. The subject is a body part (stomach, shoulders, jaw) or thin material (hair, wool). Frequently followed by 'with' to indicate the cause ('knotted with tension / anxiety / hunger').
3. to make something complicated, confused, or difficult to resolve, especially a s
to make something complicated, confused, or difficult to resolve, especially a situation, issue, discussion, or set of relationships.
Endless forms and signatures had knotted the building permit process beyond repair.
passive: knotted by [complication]
The lawyer's long, confusing questions only knotted the legal dispute further for the jury.
The ownership dispute was knotted with conflicting claims from both sides of the family.
collocation: knotted with [complications]
Several political disputes had knotted the trade negotiations between the two countries for months.
- knot the issue
- knot the situation
- knotted with doubt
- knotted with complications
- complicate
the closest synonym; more direct but less vivid than 'knot'
- entangle
suggests involvement in a difficult situation from which it is hard to escape
- confuse
focuses on making something hard to understand rather than hard to resolve
Grammar Patterns
be knotted with [complication]
knot + issue/situation
Usage Note
Frequently used in the passive ('be knotted with/by'). The subject is abstract — a situation, process, or emotional state — not a physical object. More formal than the literal knot senses.
Word family
- knottedadjectiveB2
- knottyadjectiveC1
- unknotverbC1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
A 'knot' is a fastening created by twisting rope or string around itself and pulling tight — used to hold something closed or connected. A 'bow' is a decorative type of knot with two loops and loose ends, commonly used on shoelaces, gift ribbons, and hair ties; it is meant to be undone easily. A 'loop' is not a complete fastening but a curved bend in the rope — loops are components of most knots rather than finished knots themselves. A 'tangle' is not a purposeful fastening at all but a disorderly, twisted mass that is difficult to separate. For example: 'He tied a tight knot in the rope to secure the boat' (knot = functional fastening); 'She finished the gift with a pretty bow on top' (bow = decorative).
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'knot' comes from Old English 'cnotta', which meant a tied or twisted lump. This goes back to the Proto-Germanic word '*knuttan-', which is also the source of German 'Knoten' and Dutch 'knot'. The sense of a speed unit (noun/5) is much newer — it comes from the historical practice of sailors measuring a ship's speed by throwing a rope with regularly spaced knots into the water and counting how many knots passed through their hands in a fixed time.