knot

/nɒt/

//nɒt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"knot" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“knot” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #10,877. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,877
frequency rank, English
1,236
“K” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops.

Corpus desk

Index EN-knot · knot · English

knot · rank #10,877 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,877
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,236
  • PHOTO-FINISH Jeep

Nearest frequency peer: Jeep (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “knot”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “knot” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

knot vs ko
50% similar
knot vs KT
0% similar
knot vs Koh
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for knot
PropertyValue
Headwordknot
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/nɒt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#10,877
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “knot”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).knotlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Jeep” (#10,876), “intentional” (#10,874), “Lebanese” (#10,880). Among 1,236 “K” headwords, “knot” is #10,877. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around knot (IPA /nɒt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #10,877 among 1,236 “K” headwords. Wiktionary lists 20 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for knot, with forms such as "kknot", "knnot", and "knto". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ko", "KT", "Koh", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English knotte, from Old English cnotta, from Proto-West Germanic *knottō, from Proto-Germanic *knuttô, *knudô (“knot”); probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnod- (“to bind”). See also Old High German knoto (German Knoten, Dutch knot, … The correct English form is knot, spelled K-N-O-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops.
  2. 2
    A tangled clump of hair or similar.
  3. 3
    A maze-like pattern.
  4. 4
    A non-self-intersecting closed curve in (e.g., three-dimensional) space that is an abstraction of a knot (in sense 1 above).
  5. 5
    A difficult situation.
  6. 6
    The whorl left in lumber by the base of a branch growing out of the tree's trunk.
  7. 7
    Local swelling in a tissue area, especially skin, often due to injury.
  8. 8
    A tightened and contracted part of a muscle that feels like a hard lump under the skin.
  9. 9
    A protuberant joint in a plant.
  10. 10
    Any knob, lump, swelling, or protuberance.
  11. 11
    The swelling of the bulbus glandis in members of the dog family, Canidae.
  12. 12
    The point on which the action of a story depends; the gist of a matter.
  13. 13
    A node (point at which the lines of a funicular machine meet from different angular directions)
  14. 14
    A kind of epaulet; a shoulder knot.
  15. 15
    A group of people or things.
  16. 16
    A bond of union; a connection; a tie.
  17. 17
    A unit of speed, equal to one nautical mile per hour.
  18. 18
    A unit of indicated airspeed, calibrated airspeed, or equivalent airspeed, which varies in its relation to the unit of speed so as to compensate for the effects of different ambient atmospheric conditions on aircraft performance.
  19. 19
    A nautical mile.
  20. 20
    The bulbus glandis.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how knot appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Climbers must make sure that all knots are both secure and of types that will not weaken the rope.
  2. The obstructive tendency attributed to the knot in spiritual matters appears in a Swiss superstition that if, in sewing a corpse into its shroud, you make a knot on the thread, it will hinder the soul of the deceased on its passage to eternity.

Etymology

From Middle English knotte, from Old English cnotta, from Proto-West Germanic *knottō, from Proto-Germanic *knuttô, *knudô (“knot”); probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnod- (“to bind”). See also Old High German knoto (German Knoten, Dutch knot, Low German Knütte; also Old Norse knútr > Danish knude, Swedish knut, Norwegian knute, Faroese knútur, Icelandic hnútur; also Latin nōdus and its Romance descendants. Doublet of knout, node, and nodus. * (unit of speed): From the practice of counting the number of knots in the logline (as it is paid out) in a standard time. Traditionally spaced at one every ¹⁄₁₂₀ of a mile.

This word in other languages

nudo(Español)nœud(Français)Knoten(Deutsch)nó(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • kknot
  • knnot
  • knto
  • kont
  • nkot

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of knot - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

kknot1knnot1knto2kont2nkot2
Edit distance from "knot"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "knot"?
"knot" is spelled K-N-O-T. The IPA pronunciation is /nɒt/.
What does "knot" mean?
As a noun, "knot" means: A looping of a piece of string or of any other long, flexible material that cannot be untangled without passing one or both ends of the material through its loops.
What words are commonly confused with "knot"?
"knot" is commonly confused with "ko", "KT", "Koh". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "knot"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "knot" is /nɒt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "knot"?
From Middle English knotte, from Old English cnotta, from Proto-West Germanic *knottō, from Proto-Germanic *knuttô, *knudô (“knot”); probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gnod- (“to bind”). See also Old High German knoto (German Knoten, Du... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "knot", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Jeep#10,876lust#10,882mayo#10,885hulk#10,864

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

pits5 variantsatom5 variantstate5 variantsants5 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list