Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
knot - 11 dictionary results
Tie The Knot Ceremonies
Frank A. Meola, DD, Officiant Customized/Personalized ceremonies
www.tietheknotceremonies.com
Dictionary.com Free Toolbar
Define Knot Instantly. Faster Page Loads With Fewer Ads.
Dictionary.com

knot

1  [not] noun, verb, knot⋅ted, knot⋅ting.
Use knot in a Sentence
–noun
1. an interlacing, twining, looping, etc., of a cord, rope, or the like, drawn tight into a knob or lump, for fastening, binding, or connecting two cords together or a cord to something else.
2. a piece of ribbon or similar material tied or folded upon itself and used or worn as an ornament.
3. a group or cluster of persons or things: a knot of spectators.
4. the hard, cross-grained mass of wood at the place where a branch joins the trunk of a tree.
5. a part of this mass showing in a piece of lumber, wood panel, etc.
6. Anatomy, Zoology. a protuberance or swelling on or in a part or process, as in a muscle.
7. a protuberance in the tissue of a plant; an excrescence on a stem, branch, or root; a node or joint in a stem, esp. when of swollen form.
8. any of various fungal diseases of trees characterized by the formation of an excrescence, knob, or gnarl.
9. an involved, intricate, or difficult matter; complicated problem.
10. Nautical.
a. a unit of speed equal to one nautical mile or about 1.15 statute miles per hour.
b. a unit of 47 feet 3 inches (13.79 meters) on a log line, marked off by knots.
c. a nautical mile.
11. a bond or tie: the knot of matrimony.
12. Also called joint, node. Mathematics. in interpolation, one of the points at which the values of a function are assigned.
–verb (used with object)
13. to tie in a knot; form a knot in.
14. to secure or fasten by a knot.
15. to form protuberances, bosses, or knobs in; make knotty.
–verb (used without object)
16. to become tied or tangled in a knot.
17. to form knots or joints.
—Idiom
18. tie the knot, Informal. to marry: They will tie the knot in November.
Origin:
bef. 1000; (n.) ME knot(te), OE cnotta; c. D knot, G knoten to knit; (v.) ME, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
knotless, adjective
knotlike, adjective

Synonyms:
3. company, band, crew, gang, crowd. 7. lump, knob, gnarl. 9. perplexity, puzzle, conundrum.

knot

2  [not]
–noun
either of two large sandpipers, Calidris canutus or C. tenuirostris, that breed in the Arctic and winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
Also called grayback.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To knot
knot 1   (nŏt)   
n.  
    1. A compact intersection of interlaced material, such as cord, ribbon, or rope.
    2. A fastening made by tying together lengths of material, such as rope, in a prescribed way.
    3. A hard place or lump, especially on a tree, at a point from which a stem or branch grows.
    4. The round, often darker cross section of such a lump as it appears on a piece of cut lumber. Also called node.
    5. Nautical A division on a log line used to measure the speed of a ship.
    6. Abbr. kn. or kt. A unit of speed, one nautical mile per hour, approximately 1.85 kilometers (1.15 statute miles) per hour.
    7. A distance of one nautical mile.
  2. A decorative bow of ribbon, fabric, or braid.
  3. A unifying bond, especially a marriage bond.
  4. A tight cluster of persons or things: a knot of onlookers.
  5. A feeling of tightness: a knot of fear in my stomach.
  6. A complex problem.
    1. A hard place or lump, especially on a tree, at a point from which a stem or branch grows.
    2. The round, often darker cross section of such a lump as it appears on a piece of cut lumber. Also called node.
    3. Nautical A division on a log line used to measure the speed of a ship.
    4. Abbr. kn. or kt. A unit of speed, one nautical mile per hour, approximately 1.85 kilometers (1.15 statute miles) per hour.
    5. A distance of one nautical mile.
  8. A protuberant growth or swelling in a tissue: a knot in a gland.
    1. Nautical A division on a log line used to measure the speed of a ship.
    2. Abbr. kn. or kt. A unit of speed, one nautical mile per hour, approximately 1.85 kilometers (1.15 statute miles) per hour.
    3. A distance of one nautical mile.
v.   knot·ted, knot·ting, knots

v.   tr.
  1. To tie in or fasten with a knot or knots.
  2. To snarl or entangle.
  3. To cause to form a knot or knots.
v.   intr.
  1. To form a knot or knots.
  2. To become snarled or entangled.

[Middle English, from Old English cnotta.]
Usage Note: In nautical usage knot is a unit of speed, not of distance, and has a built-in meaning of "per hour." Therefore, a ship would strictly be said to travel at ten knots (not ten knots per hour).
knot 2   (nŏt)   
n.  Either of two migratory sandpipers (Calidris canutus or C. tenuirostris) that breed in Arctic regions.

[Middle English, of Scandinavian origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Knot

Knot\, n. [OE. knot, knotte, AS. cnotta; akin to D. knot, OHG. chnodo, chnoto, G. knoten, Icel. kn?tr, Sw. knut, Dan. knude, and perh. to L. nodus. Cf. Knout, Knit.]

1. (a) A fastening together of the pars or ends of one or more threads, cords, ropes, etc., by any one of various ways of tying or entangling. (b) A lump or loop formed in a thread, cord, rope. etc., as at the end, by tying or interweaving it upon itself. (c) An ornamental tie, as of a ribbon.

Note: The names of knots vary according to the manner of their making, or the use for which they are intended; as, dowknot, reef knot, stopper knot, diamond knot, etc.

2. A bond of union; a connection; a tie. "With nuptial knot." --Shak.

Ere we knit the knot that can never be loosed. --Bp. Hall.

3. Something not easily solved; an intricacy; a difficulty; a perplexity; a problem.

Knots worthy of solution. --Cowper.

A man shall be perplexed with knots, and problems of business, and contrary affairs. --South.

4. A figure the lines of which are interlaced or intricately interwoven, as in embroidery, gardening, etc. "Garden knots." --Bacon.

Flowers worthy of paradise, which, not nice art In beds and curious knots, but nature boon Poured forth profuse on hill, and dale, and plain. --Milton.

5. A cluster of persons or things; a collection; a group; a hand; a clique; as, a knot of politicians. "Knots of talk." --Tennyson.

His ancient knot of dangerous adversaries. --Shak.

Palms in cluster, knots of Paradise. --Tennyson.

As they sat together in small, separate knots, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief. --Sir W. Scott.

6. A portion of a branch of a tree that forms a mass of woody fiber running at an angle with the grain of the main stock and making a hard place in the timber. A loose knot is generally the remains of a dead branch of a tree covered by later woody growth.

7. A knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance.

With lips serenely placid, felt the knot Climb in her throat. --Tennyson.

8. A protuberant joint in a plant.

9. The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter. [Obs.]

I shoulde to the knotte condescend, And maken of her walking soon an end. --Chaucer.

10. (Mech.) See Node.

11. (Naut.) (a) A division of the log line, serving to measure the rate of the vessel's motion. Each knot on the line bears the same proportion to a mile that thirty seconds do to an hour. The number of knots which run off from the reel in half a minute, therefore, shows the number of miles the vessel sails in an hour. Hence: (b) A nautical mile, or 6080.27 feet; as, when a ship goes eight miles an hour, her speed is said to be eight knots.

12. A kind of epaulet. See Shoulder knot.

13. (Zo["o]l.) A sandpiper (Tringa canutus), found in the northern parts of all the continents, in summer. It is grayish or ashy above, with the rump and upper tail coverts white, barred with dusky. The lower parts are pale brown, with the flanks and under tail coverts white. When fat it is prized by epicures. Called also dunne.

Note: The name is said to be derived from King Canute, this bird being a favorite article of food with him.

The knot that called was Canutus' bird of old, Of that great king of Danes his name that still doth hold, His appetite to please that far and near was sought. --Drayton.

Knot

Knot\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Knotted; p. pr. & vb. n. Knotting.]

1. To tie in or with, or form into, a knot or knots; to form a knot on, as a rope; to entangle. "Knotted curls." --Drayton.

As tight as I could knot the noose. --Tennyson.

2. To unite closely; to knit together. --Bacon.

3. To entangle or perplex; to puzzle. [Obs. or R.]

Knot

Knot\, v. i. 1. To form knots or joints, as in a cord, a plant, etc.; to become entangled.

Cut hay when it begins to knot. --Mortimer.

2. To knit knots for fringe or trimming.

3. To copulate; -- said of toads. [R.] --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : knot
Spanish: nudo,
German: der Knoten,
Japanese: 結び目
More Translations »

knot 
O.E. cnotta "intertwining of ropes, cords, etc.," from P.Gmc. *knuttan- (cf. Low Ger. knütte, Du. knot, O.H.G. knoto, Ger. Knoten, perhaps also O.N. knutr "knot, knob"). Fig. sense of "difficult problem" was in O.E. (cf. Gordian knot). Symbolic of the bond of wedlock, c.1225. As an ornament of dress, first attested 1400. Meaning "thickened part or protuberance on tissue of a plant" is from 1398. The nautical unit of measure (1633) is from the practice of attaching knotted string to the log line. The ship's speed can be measured by the number of knots that play out while the sand glass is running.
"The distance between the knots on the log-line should contain 1/120 of a mile, supposing the glass to run exactly half a minute." [Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, "A Voyage to South America" 1760]
The verb meaning "to tie in a knot" is from 1547. Knot-hole is from 1726. Knothead "stupid person" is from 1940.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: knot
Pronunciation: 'nät
Function: noun
1 : an interlacing of the parts of one or more flexible bodies (as threads or sutures) in alump to prevent their spontaneous separation —see SURGEON'S KNOT
2 : a usually firm or hardlump, swelling, or protuberance in or on a part of the body or a bone or process knot in a gland> knots> —compare SURFER'S KNOT —knot verb knot·ted; knot·ting
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source

knot (nŏt)
n.

  1. A compact intersection of interlaced material, as of cord, ribbon, or rope.
  2. A protuberant growth or swelling in a tissue, such as a gland.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source

knot

see tie into knots; tie the knot.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see knot on Thesaurus | Reference
Tie The Knot Ceremonies
Frank A. Meola, DD, Officiant Customized/Personalized ceremonies
www.tietheknotceremonies.com