Knot
[/nät/]
Part of speech: noun
Origin: Middle English
1.
A unit of speed equal to 1.15 miles per hour
2.
A nautical mile
Examples of Knot in a sentence
"When the wind picks up, this bad boy can go 25 knots."
"Using knots to measure speed seems strange until you're on the open sea."
About Knot
Not to be confused with that other nautical mile, which measures distance, a knot measures speed and clocks in at 1.15 miles per hour. Maritime terminology isn't quite as common as it was when intrepid explorers were sailing the high seas, but "knot" has persisted — even if some would-be sailors use it incorrectly more often than not.
Did you Know?
The term "knot" is quite literal, as sailors used to measure how fast they were going by using a coiled rope with knots placed at regular intervals.
