Standard Lemma guide

knotter

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A person who makes knots.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A machine or device that makes knots.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1919, The Fabric of Civilization: A Short Survey of the Cotton Industry in the United States, Guaranty Trust Company of New York (author not credited), Chapter 8, pp. 54-55, One of the most important inventions, one that was received with acclaim by the American manufacturer, and one which actually reduced his labor cost on spooling no less than ten per cent. at one clip, is a tiny little thing that is held in the palm of the hand. This is the Barber knotter. When a thread breaks, the attendant places the two ends together in the machine and by the mere pressure of her thumb ties the knot much better than she could do it without the knotter.
  • 2015, K. C. Colby, “Local farmers showcase old harvesting equipment ahead of Steam Show,” CTV News Barrie, 21 July, 2015, The binder cuts the wheat down and bundles it into a sheaf. The sheafs are then stooked into a field to dry. A metal plate on the binder would have originally been made of wood, but the fact that this machine could automatically tie string was at one time state-of-the-art. ¶ “That knotter was a marvel of its time. I mean this is a huge technology jump to be able to have a piece of mechanical machinery that actually tied a knot.”

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A screen used to remove “knots” or impurities from wood pulp in the process of making paper.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: pulp and paper

Examples

  • 1963, Ontario Water Resources Commission, Water Resources Survey, District of Sudbury, Part 2, A Survey of Industrial Water Use and Waste Disposal, p. 119, Following cooking, the cooked mixture is vented to a blow tank and from here pumped to a knotter for the removal of knots.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A vessel capable of reaching a specified speed in knots.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: in-compounds

Topics: nautical, transport

Examples

  • 1905, Hansard, “Navy Estimates,” 13 March, 1905, His hon. and gallant friend raised the question as to the two classes of destroyers, one for ocean work and the other for work in narrow waters. It was not true to say that the new twenty-five-and-a-half “knotters” had proved inferior to the old thirty “knotters.” In anything like dirty weather the twenty-five-and-a-half “knotters” had shown their superiority. As he had stated to the Committee, they had failed to produce a better design which would combine greater speed with greater stability at a limited cost.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A wind blowing at a specified velocity in knots.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: in-compounds

Topics: nautical, transport

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From knot + -er.