knot

a tight cluster of people or things; "a small knot of women listened to his sermon"; "the bird had a knot of feathers forming a crest"

any of various fastenings formed by looping and tying a rope (or cord) upon itself or to another rope or to another object

a hard cross-grained round piece of wood in a board where a branch emerged; "the saw buckled when it hit a knot"

something twisted and tight and swollen; "their muscles stood out in knots"; "the old man's fists were two great gnarls"; "his stomach was in knots"

a unit of length used in navigation; exactly 1,852 meters; historically based on the distance spanned by one minute of arc in latitude

soft lump or unevenness in a yarn; either an imperfection or created by design

a sandpiper that breeds in the Arctic and winters in the southern hemisphere

make into knots; make knots out of; "She knotted her fingers"

tie or fasten into a knot; "knot the shoelaces"

tangle or complicate; "a ravelled story"