knot

13 definitions • 11 examples

a join made by tying together the ends of a piece or pieces of string, rope, cloth, etc.:

tie a knot Tie a knot in the rope to hold it in place.

a tight mass, for example of hair or string:

Alice's hair is always full of knots and tangles.

a small group of people standing close together:

knot of Knots of anxious people stood waiting in the hall.

a small hard area on a tree or piece of wood where a branch was joined to the tree

a measure of the speed of ships, aircraft, or movements of water and air. One knot is one nautical mile per hour:

a top speed of about 20 knots

to tie in or with a knot:

knot something around something He caught the rope and knotted it around a post.

to form a tight, hard, rounded mass:

His muscles knotted (= swelled) with the strain.

a fastening made by tying together a piece or pieces of string, rope, cloth, etc.:

Wrap this string around the package and then tie a knot.

fig. She’s so nervous, her stomach is in knots (= feels tight and uncomfortable).

a group of people or things:

After the game, disappointed knots of people drifted away.

a hard, dark area on a tree or piece of wood where a branch was joined to the tree

a measure of speed for ships, aircraft, or movements of water and air equal to approximately 6076 feet (1.85 kilometers) an hour

a measure of the speed of ships, aircraft, or movements of water and air. One knot is approximately 1.85 kilometres per hour:

The flight takes an hour, flying at 140 knots.

if two or more companies tie the knot, they join to become one company:

The two airline companies finally agreed to tie the knot after last-minute haggling over ownership.