knotty
knot·ty/ˈnɑti/adjective
knotty is spelled K-N-O-T-T-Y: 6 letters and 2 syllables (knot·ty). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, knotty means “Of string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knots” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in knotty?
| Letters | 6: K-N-O-T-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: knot·ty |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is knotty?
Knotty appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce knotty?
- UK /ˈnɒti/
- US /ˈnɑti/
- US [-ɾi]
Knotty has 2 syllables, split knot·ty in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-knotty.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with knotty?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as knotty from its last stressed vowel (/ɑti/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of knotty
- knottier comparative
- more knotty comparative
- knottiest superlative
- most knotty superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does knotty mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knots.
- 2
Of a part of the body, a tree, etc.: full of knots (knobs or swellings); gnarled, knobbly.
a knotty pine
- 3
Complicated or tricky; complex, difficult.
a knotty problem
- 4
Of an austere or hard nature; rugged.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Knotty in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of string or something stringlike: full of, or tied up, in knots:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | nudoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.