Dictionary

close-knit en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /kləʊs ˈnɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio
• /kloʊs ˈnɪt/ (General-American)

Etymology

From close (“in an intimate or immediate manner”, adverb) + knit (“joined closely and firmly together”, adjective).

Meanings

1. Of a group: closely connected or linked, as by a common bond, culture, or identity.
   • a close-knit community
   • He looked rather to a close-knit company of brethren and sisters, knit so close that he could call it a family or a brotherhood, eager that God's kingdom should come. 1860, Edward Everett Hale, The Elements of Christian Doctrine:
   • I come from a close-knit family; we never keep secrets from one another.
   • The close-knit ethnic enclave also provides a stable environment where the dialect is commonly used. Therefore, if an ethnic community is close-knit the ethnic mother tongue is more likely to be retained under consensual pressure of its members to maintain linguistic separateness. 1993, Ana Roca, John M. Lipski, Spanish in the United States:
   • I think I learned more from my family than they did from me in the brief idyllic time we spent together. None of them much more than a mile from home, they carried the aura of a close-knit community as a shield against against the unknown. 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 217:

Forms

Antonyms

detached · unattached · unannexed · disparate · loose-knit · discrete · unassociated · sundry · separate · loose · unconnected · distinct

Synonyms

consociated · united · tenacious · cohesive · thick as thieves · tight · coherent · tight-knit · corporate · unified

Translations (17)

ga an-dlúth (of a group: closely connected or linked) · fi läheinen (of a group: closely connected or linked) · is samrýmdur (of a group: closely connected or linked) · sv sammansvetsad (of a group: closely connected or linked) · ru сплочённый (of a group: closely connected or linked) · ja 団結した (of a group: closely connected or linked) · fr soudé (of a group: closely connected or linked) · es unido (of a group: closely connected or linked) · ang nēahfeald (of a group: closely connected or linked) · id rapat (of a group: closely connected or linked) · fr uni (of a group: closely connected or linked) · cmn 團結一致的 /团结一致的 (of a group: closely connected or linked) · pl zżyty (of a group: closely connected or linked) · fi tiivis (of a group: closely connected or linked) · pl zgrany (of a group: closely connected or linked) · de zusammengewachsen (of a group: closely connected or linked) · nl hecht (of a group: closely connected or linked)