knot

In navigation, unit by which a ship's speed is measured, equivalent to one nautical mile per hour (one knot equals about 1.15 miles per hour). It is also sometimes used in aviation.

knot

Wading bird belonging to the sandpiper family. It is about 25 cm/10 in long, with a short bill, neck, and legs. In the winter, it is grey above and white below, but in the breeding season, it is brick-red on the head and chest and black on the wings and back. It feeds on insects and molluscs. (Species Calidris canutus, family Scolopacidae, order Charadriiformes.)

Breeding in North American, European, and Asian arctic regions, knots travel widely in winter, to be found as far south as South Africa, Australasia, and southern parts of South America.

knot

Intertwinement of parts of one or more ropes, cords, or strings, to bind them together or to other objects. It is constructed so that the strain on the knot will draw it tighter. Bends or hitches are knots used to fasten ropes together or to other objects; when two ropes are joined end to end, they are spliced. The craft of macramé uses knots to form decorative pieces and fringes.

knot

Alternative name for the ornamental fretwork sound hole of many flat-bellied string instruments and keyboard instruments, more generally called a rose.