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” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #10,877 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#10,877
frequency rank, English
4
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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.

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)

Where “knot” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). knot lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for knot is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /nɒt/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,877 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 20 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “knot”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is K-N-O-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /nɒt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “ko” - see the side-by-side comparison. knot vs ko
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list