1.  A fastening together of the parts or ends of one or more threads, cords, ropes, etc., by any one of various ways of tying or entangling. [1913 Webster]
" 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." [1913 Webster]

2.  A bond of union; a connection; a tie. Shak. [1913 Webster]
"Ere we knit the knot that can never be loosed." [1913 Webster]

3.  Something not easily solved; an intricacy; a difficulty; a perplexity; a problem. [1913 Webster]
"Knots worthy of solution." [1913 Webster]
"A man shall be perplexed with knots, and problems of business, and contrary affairs." [1913 Webster]

4.  A figure the lines of which are interlaced or intricately interwoven, as in embroidery, gardening, etc. Bacon. [1913 Webster]
"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." [1913 Webster]

5.  A cluster of persons or things; a collection; a group; a hand; a clique; as, a knot of politicians. Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
"His ancient knot of dangerous adversaries." [1913 Webster]
"Palms in cluster, knots of Paradise." [1913 Webster]
"As they sat together in small, separate knots, they discussed doctrinal and metaphysical points of belief." [1913 Webster]

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. [1913 Webster]

7.  A knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance. [1913 Webster]
"With lips serenely placid, felt the knot
Climb in her throat." [1913 Webster]

8.  A protuberant joint in a plant. [1913 Webster]

9.  The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter. [1913 Webster]
"I shoulde to the knotte condescend,
And maken of her walking soon an end." [1913 Webster]

10.  See Node. [1913 Webster]

11.  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. [1913 Webster]

12.  A kind of epaulet. See Shoulder knot. [1913 Webster]

13.  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. [1913 Webster]
" The name is said to be derived from King Canute, this bird being a favorite article of food with him." [1913 Webster]
"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." [1913 Webster]

1.  To tie in or with, or form into, a knot or knots; to form a knot on, as a rope; to entangle. Drayton. [1913 Webster]
"As tight as I could knot the noose." [1913 Webster]

2.  To unite closely; to knit together. Bacon. [1913 Webster]

3.  To entangle or perplex; to puzzle. [1913 Webster]

1.  To form knots or joints, as in a cord, a plant, etc.; to become entangled. [1913 Webster]
"Cut hay when it begins to knot." [1913 Webster]

2.  To knit knots for fringe or trimming. [1913 Webster]

3.  To copulate; -- said of toads. Shak. [1913 Webster]

knot, n. & v.
--n.
1 a an intertwining of a rope, string, tress of hair, etc., with another, itself, or something else to join or fasten together. b a set method of tying a knot (a reef knot). c a ribbon etc. tied as an ornament and worn on a dress etc. d a tangle in hair, knitting, etc.
2 a a unit of a ship's or aircraft's speed equivalent to one nautical mile per hour (see nautical mile). b a division marked by knots on a log-line, as a measure of speed. c colloq. a nautical mile.
3 (usu. foll. by of) a group or cluster (a small knot of journalists at the gate).
4 something forming or maintaining a union; a bond or tie, esp. of wedlock.
5 a hard lump of tissue in an animal or human body.
6 a a knob or protuberance in a stem, branch, or root. b a hard mass formed in a tree trunk at the intersection with a branch. c a round cross-grained piece in timber where a branch has been cut through. d a node on the stem of a plant.
7 a difficulty; a problem.
8 a central point in a problem or the plot of a story etc.
9 (in full porter's knot) Brit. hist. a double shoulder-pad and forehead-loop used for carrying loads.
--v. (knotted, knotting)
1 tr. tie (a string etc.) in a knot.
2 tr. entangle.
3 tr. knit (the brows).
4 tr. unite closely or intricately (knotted together in intrigue).
5 a intr. make knots for fringing. b tr. make (a fringe) with knots.

Idiom:
at a rate of knots colloq. very fast. get knotted! sl. an expression of disbelief, annoyance, etc. knot-garden an intricately designed formal garden. knot-hole a hole in a piece of timber where a knot has fallen out (sense 6). tie in knots colloq. baffle or confuse completely.

Derivative:
knotless adj. knotter n. knotting n. (esp. in sense 5 of v.).

knot, n. a small sandpiper, Calidris canutus.

Etymology:
ME: orig. unkn.

N  connection, vinculum, link, connective, connection, junction, bond of union, copula, hyphen, intermedium, bracket, bridge, stepping-stone, isthmus, bond, tendon, tendril, fiber, cord, cordage, riband, ribbon, rope, guy, cable, line, halser, hawser, painter, moorings, wire, chain, string, fastener, fastening, tie, ligament, ligature, strap, tackle, rigging, standing rigging, running rigging, traces, harness, yoke, band ribband, bandage, brace, roller, fillet, inkle, with, withe, withy, thong, braid, girder, tiebeam, girth, girdle, cestus, garter, halter, noose, lasso, surcingle, knot, running knot, cabestro, cinch, lariat, legadero, oxreim, suspenders, pin, corking pin, nail, brad, tack, skewer, staple, corrugated fastener, clamp, U-clamp, C-clamp, cramp, cramp iron, ratchet, detent, larigo, pawl, terret, treenail, screw, button, buckle, clasp, hasp, hinge, hank, catch, latch, bolt, latchet, tag, tooth, hook, hook and eye, lock, holdfast, padlock, rivet, anchor, grappling iron, trennel, stake, post, cement, glue, gum, paste, size, wafer, solder, lute, putty, birdlime, mortar, stucco, plaster, grout, viscum, shackle, rein, prop.

N  complexity, complexness, complexus, complication, implication, intricacy, intrication, perplexity, network, labyrinth, wilderness, jungle, involution, raveling, entanglement, coil, sleave, tangled skein, knot, Gordian knot, wheels within wheels, kink, gnarl, knarl, webwork, difficulty, gnarled, knarled, complex, complexed, intricate, complicated, perplexed, involved, raveled, entangled, knotted, tangled, inextricable, irreducible.

N  assemblage, collection, collocation, colligation, compilation, levy, gathering, ingathering, muster, attroupement, team, concourse, conflux, congregation, contesseration, convergence, meeting, levee, reunion, drawing room, at home, conversazione, assembly, congress, convention, conventicle, gemote, conclave, posse, posse comitatus, Noah's ark, miscellany, collectanea, museum, menagerie, museology, crowd, throng, group, flood, rush, deluge, rabble, mob, press, crush, cohue, horde, body, tribe, crew, gang, knot, squad, band, party, swarm, shoal, school, covey, flock, herd, drove, atajo, bunch, drive, force, mulada, remuda, roundup, array, bevy, galaxy, corps, company, troop, troupe, task force, army, regiment, host, populousness, clan, brotherhood, fraternity, sorority, association, volley, shower, storm, cloud, group, cluster, Pleiades, clump, pencil, set, batch, lot, pack, budget, assortment, bunch, parcel, packet, package, bundle, fascine, fasces, bale, seron, seroon, fagot, wisp, truss, tuft, shock, rick, fardel, stack, sheaf, haycock, fascicle, fascicule, fasciculus, gavel, hattock, stook, accumulation, congeries, heap, lump, pile, rouleau, tissue, mass, pyramid, bing, drift, snowball, snowdrift, acervation, cumulation, glomeration, agglomeration, conglobation, conglomeration, conglomerate, coacervate, coacervation, coagmentation, aggregation, concentration, congestion, omnium gaterum, spicilegium, black hole of Calcutta, quantity, collector, gatherer, whip, whipper in, assembled, closely packed, dense, serried, crowded to suffocation, teeming, swarming, populous, as thick as hops, all of a heap, fasciculated cumulative, the plot thickens, acervatim, tibi seris tibi metis.

N  difficulty, hardness, impracticability, tough work, hard work, uphill work, hard task, Herculean task, Augean task, task of Sisyphus, Sisyphean labor, tough job, teaser, rasper, dead lift, dilemma, embarrassment, deadlock, perplexity, intricacy, entanglement, complexity, cross fire, awkwardness, delicacy, ticklish card to play, knot, Gordian knot, dignus vindice nodus, net, meshes, maze, coil, crooked path, involvement, nice point, delicate point, subtle point, knotty point, vexed question, vexata quaestio, poser, puzzle, paradox, hard nut to crack, nut to crack, bone to pick, crux, pons asinorum, where the shoe pinches, nonplus, quandary, strait, pass, pinch, pretty pass, stress, brunt, critical situation, crisis, trial, rub, emergency, exigency, scramble, scrape, hobble, slough, quagmire, hot water, hornet's nest, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, pretty kettle of fish, pickle, stew, imbroglio, mess, ado, false position, set fast, stand, standstill, deadlock, dead set, fix, horns of a dilemma, cul de sac, hitch, stumbling block, crab, curmudgeon, difficult, not easy, hard, tough, troublesome, toilsome, irksome, operose, laborious, onerous, arduous, Herculean, formidable, sooner said than done, more easily said than done, easier said than done, difficult to deal with, hard to deal with, ill-conditioned, crabbed, crabby, not to be handled with kid gloves, not made with rose water, awkward, unwieldy, unmanageable, intractable, stubborn, perverse, refractory, plaguy, trying, thorny, rugged, knotted, knotty, invious, pathless, trackless, labyrinthine, intricate, complicated, impracticable, not feasible, desperate, embarrassing, perplexing, delicate, ticklish, critical, beset with difficulties, full of difficulties, surrounded by difficulties, entangled by difficulties, encompassed with difficulties, under a difficulty, in a box, in difficulty, in hot water, in the suds, in a cleft stick, in a fix, in the wrong box, in a scrape, in deep water, in a fine pickle, in extremis, between two stools, between Scylla and Charybdis, surrounded by shoals, surrounded by breakers, surrounded by quicksands, at cross purposes, not out of the wood, reduced to straits, hard pressed, sorely pressed, run hard, pinched, put to it, straitened, hard up, hard put to it, hard set, put to one's shifts, puzzled, at a loss, at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, at a standstill, graveled, nonplused, nonplussed, stranded, aground, stuck fast, set fast, up a tree, at bay, aux abois, driven into a corner, driven from pillar to post, driven to extremity, driven to one's wit's end, driven to the wall, au bout de son Latin, out of one's depth, thrown out, accomplished with difficulty, hard-fought, hard-earned, with difficulty, with much ado, barely, hardly, uphill, against the stream, against the grain, d rebours, invita Minerva, in the teeth of, at a pinch, upon a pinch, at long odds, against long odds, ay there's the rub, hic labor hoc opus, things are come to a pretty pass, ab inconvenienti, ad astra per aspera, acun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire.

N  hindrance, prevention, preclusion, obstruction, stoppage, embolus, embolism, infarct, interruption, interception, interclusion, hindrance, impedition, retardment, retardation, embarrassment, oppilation, coarctation, stricture, restriction, restraint, inhibition, blockade, interference, interposition, obtrusion, discouragement, discountenance, impediment, let, obstacle, obstruction, knot, knag, check, hitch, contretemps, screw loose, grit in the oil, bar, stile, barrier, turnstile, turnpike, gate, portcullis, beaver dam, trocha, barricade, wall, dead wall, sea wall, levee breakwater, groyne, bulkhead, block, buffer, stopper, boom, dam, weir, burrock, drawback, objection, stumbling-block, stumbling-stone, lion in the path, snag, snags and sawyers, encumbrance, incumbrance, clog, skid, shoe, spoke, drag, drag chain, drag weight, stay, stop, preventive, prophylactic, load, burden, fardel, onus, millstone round one's neck, impedimenta, dead weight, lumber, pack, nightmare, Ephialtes, incubus, old man of the sea, remora, difficulty, insuperable, obstacle, estoppel, ill wind, head wind, trammel, tether, hold back, counterpoise, damper, wet blanket, hinderer, marplot, killjoy, party pooper, party crasher, interloper, trail of a red herring, opponent, hindering, obstructive, obstruent, impeditive, impedient, intercipient, prophylactic, impedimentary, in the way of, unfavorable, onerous, burdensome, cumbrous, cumbersome, obtrusive, hindered, windbound, waterlogged, heavy laden, hard pressed, unassisted &c (assist), single-handed, alone, deserted, occurrent nubes.

N  party, faction, side, denomination, communion, set, crew, band, horde, posse, phalanx, family, clan, team, tong, council, community, body, fellowship, sodality, solidarity, confraternity, familistere, familistery, brotherhood, sisterhood, knot, gang, clique, ring, circle, group, crowd, in-crowd, coterie, club, casino, machine, Tammany, Tammany Hall, corporation, corporate body, guild, establishment, company, copartnership, partnership, firm, house, joint concern, joint-stock company, cahoot, combine, trust, society, association, institute, institution, union, trades union, league, syndicate, alliance, Verein, Bund, Zollverein, combination, Turnverein, league offensive and defensive, alliance offensive and defensive, coalition, federation, confederation, confederacy, junto, cabal, camarilla, camorra, brigue, freemasonry, party spirit, Confederates, Conservatives, Democrats, Federalists, Federals, Freemason, Knight Templar, Kuklux, Kuklux Klan, KKK, Liberals, Luddites, Republicans, Socialists, Tories, Whigs staff, dramatis personae, in league, in partnership, in alliance, bonded together, banded together, linked, joined together, embattled, confederated, federative, joint, hand in hand, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, en masse, in the same boat.

N  crossing, intersection, interdigitation, decussation, transversion, convolution, level crossing, reticulation, network, inosculation, anastomosis, intertexture, mortise, net, plexus, web, mesh, twill, skein, sleeve, felt, lace, wicker, mat, matting, plait, trellis, wattle, lattice, grating, grille, gridiron, tracery, fretwork, filigree, reticle, tissue, netting, mokes, rivulation, cross, chain, wreath, braid, cat's cradle, knot, entangle, cloth, linen, muslin, cambric, crossing, crossed, matted, v, transverse, cross, cruciform, crucial, retiform, reticular, reticulated, areolar, cancellated, grated, barred, streaked, textile, crossbarred, cruciate, palmiped, secant, web-footed, cross, thwart, athwart, transversely, at grade, crosswise.

VB  cross, decussate, intersect, interlace, intertwine, intertwist, interweave, interdigitate, interlink, twine, entwine, weave, inweave, twist, wreathe, anastomose, inosculate, dovetail, splice, link, lace, tat, mat, plait, plat, braid, felt, twill, tangle, entangle, ravel, net, knot, dishevel, raddle.

N  convolution, winding, convolution, involution, circumvolution, wave, undulation, tortuosity, anfractuosity, sinuosity, sinuation, meandering, circuit, circumbendibus, twist, twirl, windings and turnings, ambages, torsion, inosculation, reticulation, rivulation, roughness, coil, roll, curl, buckle, spiral, helix, corkscrew, worm, volute, rundle, tendril, scollop, scallop, escalop, kink, ammonite, snakestone, serpent, eel, maze, labyrinth, knot, convoluted, winding, twisted, tortile, tortive, wavy, undated, undulatory, circling, snaky, snake-like, serpentine, serpent, anguill, vermiform, vermicular, mazy, tortuous, sinuous, flexuous, anfractuous, reclivate, rivulose, scolecoid, sigmoid, sigmoidal, spiriferous, spiroid, involved, intricate, complicated, perplexed, labyrinth, labyrinthic, labyrinthian, labyrinthine, peristaltic, daedalian, kinky, knotted, wreathy, frizzly, crepe, buckled, raveled, spiral, coiled, helical, cochleate, cochleous, screw-shaped, turbinated, turbiniform, in and out, round and round, a can of worms, Gordian knot.

N  density, solidity, solidness, impenetrability, impermeability, incompressibility, imporosity, cohesion, constipation, consistence, spissitude, specific gravity, hydrometer, areometer, condensation, caseation, solidation, solidification, consolidation, concretion, coagulation, petrification, crystallization, precipitation, deposit, precipitate, inspissation, gelation, thickening, indivisibility, indiscerptibility, insolubility, indissolvableness, solid body, mass, block, knot, lump, concretion, concrete, conglomerate, cake, clot, stone, curd, coagulum, bone, gristle, cartilage, casein, crassamentum, legumin, superdense matter, condensed states of matter, dwarf star, neutron star, dense, solid, solidified, caseous, pukka, coherent, cohesive, compact, close, serried, thickset, substantial, massive, lumpish, impenetrable, impermeable, nonporous, imporous, incompressible, constipated, concrete, knotted, knotty, gnarled, crystalline, crystallizable, thick, grumous, stuffy, undissolved, unmelted, unliquefied, unthawed, indivisible, indiscerptible, infrangible, indissolvable, indissoluble, insoluble, infusible.

barrel knot, black knot, blood knot, bowline knot, clytie knot, cuckold's knot, fisherman's knot, flat knot, french knot, gordian knot, granny knot, loop knot, love knot, lover's knot, lovers' knot, matthew walker knot, overhand knot, pine knot, prolonge knot, reef knot, square knot, stopper knot, surgeon's knot, sword knot, true lover's knot, true lovers' knot, truelove knot, weaver's knot, windsor knot