Definition of “knight” - English Dictionary

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“knight” in English

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knightnoun [ C ]

uk ​ /naɪt/ us ​ /naɪt/

› a man given a rank of honour by a British king or queen because of his special achievements, and who has the right to be called "Sir":

He hopes to be made a knight for his work at the Bank of England.

› (in the past) a man of high social position trained to fight as a soldier on a horse:

knights in black armour

› in the game of chess, a piece in the shape of a horse's head that moves two squares in one direction and then one square at an angle of 90°

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Idiom(s)

a knight in shining armour

knightverb [ T ]

uk ​ /naɪt/ us ​ /naɪt/

(Definition of “knight” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

“knight” in American English

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knightnoun [ C ]

us ​ /nɑɪt/

› (in the past) a man of high rank who was trained to fight as a soldier on a horse:

I’m reading about King Arthur and his knights.

› A knight is a playing piece in the game of chess that is often shaped like a horse’s head.

knighthood
noun [ C ] us ​ /ˈnɑɪt·hʊd/

knightverb [ T ]

us ​ /nɑɪt/

› in Britain, to give a person a rank of honor because of that person’s special achievements:

He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

(Definition of “knight” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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