knot
/nɒt/ (bre, ipa) · /nɑːt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈnät/ (ame, mw)
knot — noun
- knotsingular
- knotsplural
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.
A simple knot held the fishing net closed while the fisherman pulled in the catch.
文法句型
tie/undo a knot
knot in [rope/string]
常見錯誤
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.
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.
文法句型
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.
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.
文法句型
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.
文法句型
knot in the wood
piece of wood with knots
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
❌ '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.
文法句型
[number] knots
at [number] knots
用法筆記
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'.
常見錯誤
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.
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.
文法句型
a knot in [body part]
knot of [emotion]
用法筆記
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.
常見錯誤
knot — verb
- knotpresent simple I / you / we / they
- knots3rd person singular
- knotting-ing form
- knottedpast simple
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.
This type of rope knots easily and holds its shape well even in wet weather.
文法句型
knot + object
knot + object + together
knot + object + around/on
用法筆記
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').
常見錯誤
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.
- relax
used especially for muscles
文法句型
[body part] + knots
[material] + knots
用法筆記
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.
Several political disputes had knotted the trade negotiations between the two countries for months.
- 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
文法句型
be knotted with [complication]
knot + issue/situation
用法筆記
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.