What does "knit" mean?
A knitted garment.
Knit
/nɪt/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A knitted garment.
- Grammar: knit is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abbreviate, adhere, affix, anchor.
- Useful contrasts: discord, disperse, disunite.
- Usage evidence: It must have been difficult for her to knit this sweater.
How to use "knit"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "knit" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "knit" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "knit" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "knit" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "knit" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abbreviate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "knit", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A knitted garment.
"There are grey Grecian tops and a light, sheer, silver cardigan. Stylish dark grey tailored trousers, silver thongs and shiny jet-black stilettos. Black sheer blouses with squared bib fronts, and expensive-looking black and dark grey woollen knits."
- 2 needlework created by interlacing yarn in a series of connected loops using straight eyeless needles or by machine wordnet
- 3 A session of knitting.
"It's always time for a bit of a knit."
- 4 a basic knitting stitch made by putting the needle through the front of the stitch from the lefthand side wordnet
- 5 a fabric made by knitting wordnet
Verb
- 1 To turn thread or yarn into a piece of fabric by forming loops that are pulled through each other. This can be done by hand with needles or by machine. ambitransitive
"to knit a stocking"
- 2 to gather something into small wrinkles or folds wordnet
- 3 To create a stitch by pulling the working yarn through an existing stitch from back to front. ambitransitive
"Stitches that are knitted look like little V’s when seen from the front."
- 4 make (textiles) by knitting wordnet
- 5 To join closely and firmly together. figuratively, transitive
"The fight for survival knitted the men closely together."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 tie or link together wordnet
- 7 To become closely and firmly joined; become compacted. intransitive
- 8 To grow together. intransitive
"All those seedlings knitted into a kaleidoscopic border."
- 9 To combine from various elements. transitive
"The witness knitted together his testimony from contradictory pieces of hearsay."
- 10 To heal following a fracture. intransitive
"I’ll go skiing again after my bones knit."
- 11 To form into a knot, or into knots; to tie together, as cord; to fasten by tying. transitive
"When your head did but ache, I knit my handkercher about your brows,"
- 12 To draw together; to contract into wrinkles. transitive
"But meet him now, and be it in the Morne, / When euery one will giue the time of day, / He knits his Brow and ſhewes an angry Eye, / And paſſeth by with ſtiffe vnbowed Knee, / Diſdaining dutie that to vs belongs."
Example
"It must have been difficult for her to knit this sweater."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "knit"?
Common synonyms include: abbreviate, adhere, affix, anchor, annex, applique.
How do you use "knit" in a sentence?
It must have been difficult for her to knit this sweater.
How do you pronounce "knit"?
Pronounced /nɪt/.
Etymology
From Middle English knytten, from Old English cnyttan (“to fasten, tie, bind, knit; add, append”), from Proto-West Germanic *knuttijan, from Proto-Germanic *knutjaną, *knuttijaną (“to make knots, knit”). Cognate with Low German knütten and Old Norse knýta (whence Danish knytte, Norwegian Nynorsk knyta). More at knot.