unknot

verb

un·​knot ˌən-ˈnät How to pronounce unknot (audio)
unknotted; unknotting

transitive verb

: to undo a knot in
unknot a rope
an unknotted tie

Examples of unknot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
What at first presents itself as a survival horror, though, slowly unknots itself with twists and turns. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 20 Sep. 2024 The idea is that a meditative approach can allow people to feel with resilience and unknot the ropework of repression without being flooded into despair. Hazlitt, 15 Sep. 2022 In nearly eight years, the Republican has appointed nearly 60 percent of the state’s 418 justices, installing judges who will oversee murder trials, reshape constitutional law, and unknot thorny civil litigation for years, if not decades, to come. Matt Stout, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Dec. 2022 Being an open-ended query is an ideal state for an online girl, who will doubtless find a million other users hoping to provide her answer, helping to unknot her prettily furrowed brow. Philippa Snow, The New Republic, 30 Aug. 2022 Acupressure mats can also improve circulation, unknot tight muscles, and improve sleep. Jasmine Washington, Seventeen, 2 Aug. 2022 If someone comes up with an algorithm that can unknot any knot in what’s called polynomial time, that will put the Unknotting Problem fully to rest. Dave Linkletter, Popular Mechanics, 22 July 2022 One of the issues the Supreme Court must unknot is whether Kennedy was praying as a private citizen or as an assistant coach and school employee. Editors, USA TODAY, 25 Apr. 2022 Milwaukee's rally began quietly enough with a pair of Antetokounmpo free throws to unknot the score. Matt Velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unknot was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near unknot

Cite this Entry

“Unknot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unknot. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on unknot

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!