knight
noun · verb
Showing knight , the base form of “knightly”.
Simple meaning
A person on whom a knighthood has been conferred by a monarch.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
nytIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈnaɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
modern
A person on whom a knighthood has been conferred by a monarch.
by extension
An armored and mounted warrior of the Middle Ages.
literary
A brave, chivalrous and honorable man devoted to a noble cause or love interest.
A species of nymphalid butterfly, Lebadea martha, found in tropical and subtropical Asia.
entomology
Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Ypthima.
verb
Raise (someone) to knighthood
transitive
To confer knighthood upon.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (modern) A person on whom a knighthood has been conferred by a monarch.
Used this way, knight is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use knight
- “In old stories, a brave knight would protect the kingdom from harm.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A knight honored for valor.
A wandering knight travelling in search of adventure.
Quixotic (romantic and impractical) behavior.
In the Arthurian legend, a knight of King Arthur's court.
A knight honored for valor.
A man who belongs to a Masonic order in the United States.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Land tenure by service to the lord as a knight.
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Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.