8 PHRASE If you tie yourself in knots , you get very confused and anxious. [INFORMAL ] □ The press agent tied himself in knots trying to apologise.
9 PHRASE If you say that two people tie the knot , you mean that they get married. [INFORMAL ] □ Len tied the knot with Kate five years ago.
knot|ty /nɒ ti/ (knottier , knottiest )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] A knotty problem is complicated and difficult to solve. □ The new management team faces some knotty problems.
2 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Knotty wood has a lot of small hard areas on it where branches once grew.
know ◆◆◆ /noʊ / (knows , knowing , knew , known )
1 VERB [no cont] If you know a fact, a piece of information, or an answer, you have it correctly in your mind. □ [V n] I don't know the name of the place. □ [V that] 'People like doing things for nothing.'—'I know they do.' □ [V wh] I don't know what happened to her husband. □ [V ] 'How did he meet your mother?'—'I don't know.' □ [V + about ] We all know about his early experiments in flying. □ [V n to-inf] They looked younger than I knew them to be. □ [be V -ed wh] It is not known whether the bomb was originally intended for the capital itself. □ [be V -ed that] It's always been known that key figures in the government do very well for themselves.
2 VERB [no cont] If you know someone, you are familiar with them because you have met them and talked to them before. □ [V n] Gifford was a friend. I'd known him for nine years. □ [V n] Do you two know each other?
3 VERB [no cont] If you say that you know of something, you mean that you have heard about it but you do not necessarily have a lot of information about it. □ [V + of ] We know of the incident but have no further details. □ [V + of ] I know of no one who would want to murder Albert.
4 VERB [no cont] If you know about a subject, you have studied it or taken an interest in it, and understand part or all of it. □ [V + about ] Hire someone with experience, someone who knows about real estate. □ [V amount + about ] She didn't know anything about music but she liked to sing.
5 VERB [no cont] If you know a language, you have learned it and can understand it. □ [V n] It helps to know French and Creole if you want to understand some of the lyrics.
6 VERB [no cont] If you know something such as a place, a work of art, or an idea, you have visited it, seen it, read it, or heard about it, and so you are familiar with it. □ [V n] No matter how well you know Paris, it is easy to get lost.
7 VERB [no cont] If you know how to do something, you have the necessary skills and knowledge to do it. □ [V wh-to-inf] The health authorities now know how to deal with the disease. □ [V wh-to-inf] We know what to do to make it work.
8 VERB [no cont] You can say that someone knows that something is happening when they become aware of it. □ [V that] Then I saw a gun under the hall table so I knew that something was wrong. □ [V + about ] The first I knew about it was when I woke up in the ambulance.
9 VERB [no cont] If you know something or someone, you recognize them when you see them or hear them. □ [V n] Would she know you if she saw you on the street?
10 VERB [no cont] If someone or something is known as a particular name, they are called by that name. □ [be V -ed + as ] The disease is more commonly known as Mad Cow Disease. □ [V n + as ] He was born as John Birks Gillespie, but everyone knew him as Dizzy. □ [be V -ed + by ] He was the only boy in the school who was known by his Christian name and not his surname. □ [V -ed] …British Nuclear Fuels, otherwise known as BNFL.
11 VERB If you know someone or something as a person or thing that has particular qualities, you consider that they have those qualities. □ [V n + as ] Lots of people know her as a very kind woman.
12 → see also knowing , known
13 PHRASE If you talk about a thing or system as we know it , you are referring to the form in which it exists now and which is familiar to most people. □ He planned to end the welfare system as we know it.
14 PHRASE If you get to know someone, you find out what they are like by spending time with them. □ The new neighbours were getting to know each other.
15 PHRASE People use expressions such as goodness knows , Heaven knows , and God knows when they do not know something and want to suggest that nobody could possibly know it. [INFORMAL ] □ 'Who's he?'—'God knows.'
16 CONVENTION You say ' I know ' to show that you agree with what has just been said. □ 'This country is so awful.'—'I know, I know.'
17 CONVENTION You say ' I know ' to show that you accept that something is true, but think that it is not very important or relevant. □ 'There are trains straight from Cambridge.'—'I know, but it's no quicker.'
18 PHRASE You use ' I know ' to express sympathy and understanding towards someone. □ I know what you're going through.
19 PHRASE You can use I don't know to indicate that you do not completely agree with something or do not really think that it is true. □ 'He should quite simply resign.'—'I don't know about that.'
20 PHRASE You can say ' I don't know about you ' to indicate that you are going to give your own opinion about something and you want to find out if someone else feels the same. □ I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm hungry.