knot

/nɒt/ (bre, ipa) · /nɑːt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈnät/ (ame, mw)

knot — 名詞

  • knotsingular
  • knotsplural

1. a shape made by looping and pulling tight a piece of string, rope, or similar ma

1.名詞A2
釋義

結；繩結

將繩、線打結連接在一起處

a shape made by looping and pulling tight a piece of string, rope, or similar material to hold things in place.

例句

The sailor taught Sade how to tie a strong knot in the rope.

水手教 Sade 如何在繩子上打一個牢固的結。

collocation: tie a knot

Christopher checked the knot on his shoelace before the race began.

Christopher 在比賽前檢查了鞋帶上的結。

collocation: knot on [object]

同義詞
  • bow

    a decorative knot with two loops, used on shoelaces or ribbons

  • loop

    a curved shape in a rope or string, which is part of many knots

  • fastening

    a more general term for anything that holds things together, not specific to rope

文法句型

tie/undo a knot

knot in [rope/string]

常見錯誤

❌I tied a knot in the ribbon, but it was too loose to hold the gift box shut.
✅I tied a knot in the ribbon so the gift box stayed closed.
💡'knot' is the result of the tying, not the action itself.
❌She tied her shoelaces in a double knot to make sure they would not become undone.' (correct usage) — but learners sometimes confuse 'knot' with 'knob': ❌ 'There was a knot on the door.
✅There was a knob on the door.
💡a 'knob' is a round handle; a 'knot' is a tied join.

2. a twisted, tight lump that appears in hair, thread, wool, or similar thin materi

2.名詞B1
釋義

纏結；糾結

頭髮、線等纏繞成的一團

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.

例句

Tara spent an hour brushing the knots out of her daughter's long hair.

Tara 花了一個小時梳理女兒長髮中的纏結。

collocation: brush knots out of hair

The kitten had got a knot of wool tangled tightly around its paw.

小貓的腳掌被一團纏結的毛線緊緊纏住了。

同義詞
  • tangle

    focuses on the twisted, disordered condition rather than the lump itself

  • snarl

    a more informal word for a tangled mass in hair or thread

文法句型

knot of [hair/string/wool]

3. a small, closely gathered group of people who are standing together, usually for

3.名詞B1
釋義

一小群

聚在一起的一小群人

a small, closely gathered group of people who are standing together, usually for a short time and in a particular spot.

例句

A knot of tourists stood outside the museum waiting for the doors to open.

一小群遊客站在博物館外，等待開門。

collocation: a knot of tourists

Dahlia noticed a knot of children gathered around the ice-cream cart at the park.

Dahlia 注意到公園裡有一小群孩子圍著冰淇淋車。

同義詞
  • cluster

    can describe both people and things; slightly more neutral in tone

  • huddle

    suggests the group is close together, often for warmth or conversation

  • crowd

    a larger and less organised gathering; not specific to a small group

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

4.名詞B1
釋義

節疤

木材上樹枝曾連接處的硬塊

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.

例句

Gabriela ran her finger over the rough knot in the old wooden table.

Gabriela 用手指摸了摸舊木桌上粗糙的節疤。

collocation: knot in the wood

The pine board had several dark knots running along its surface near the centre.

松木板的表面有幾個深色的節疤。

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

❌The tree has many knots on its branches.
✅The tree has many knots in its trunk where branches used to grow.
💡a knot is inside the wood, not a growth on a living branch.

❌ '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

5.名詞B2
釋義

節

船、飛機的速度單位，每小時一海浬

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.

例句

The ferry crossed the channel at a steady speed of eighteen knots.

渡輪以穩定的十八節速度穿越海峽。

pattern: [number] + knots

Strong winds of up to forty knots pushed the yacht dangerously close to the rocks.

高達四十節的強風將遊艇吹向危險的岩石區。

application: wind speed

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

❌The boat was moving at ten knots per hour.
✅The boat was moving at ten knots.
💡'knots' already includes 'per hour'; adding 'per hour' is redundant.

6. an uncomfortable, constricted feeling that people experience in their stomach, t

6.名詞B2
釋義

緊繃；哽住

緊張、情緒激動時的胃部或喉嚨緊繃感

an uncomfortable, constricted feeling that people experience in their stomach, throat, or chest when they are very nervous, frightened, angry, or sad.

例句

Sade felt a knot in her stomach while waiting for her exam results.

Sade 在等候考試成績時感到胃部一陣緊繃。

collocation: a knot in the stomach

Christopher tried to speak, but a knot in his throat stopped the words.

Christopher 想說話，但喉嚨哽住，話卡在嘴裡。

collocation: a knot in the throat

同義詞
  • lump

    used similarly for the throat ('a lump in my throat'), but more often for sadness than for anxiety or anger

  • tightness

    more direct and literal, but less vivid than 'knot'

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

❌I have knots in my stomach every time I see a spider.
✅I get a knot in my stomach every time I see a spider.
💡this sense is usually singular ('a knot'), even when the feeling happens repeatedly.

knot — 動詞