Meanings
prepositional phrase
- In a state of disagreement or confusion; at a standstill; in a deadlock.
Centrists are in knots over whether to field one or several candidates to be the faces of their 2024 campaign.
2023 July 5, Eddy Wax, “Liberals divided over 2024 EU election campaign strategy”, in Politico1 more example
The conservative stance made it difficult to advance the legislation, and the appropriations process ended up in knots despite a Republican pledge to consider and pass 12 individual spending bills.
2023 December 15, Carl Hulse, “A ‘Historical and Hysterical’ House Flees After a Tumultuous Year”, in The New York Times
Origin
Compare knot (“difficult situation”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
in knots. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20knots
MLA
“in knots.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20knots. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in knots,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20knots.
Source: in knots on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.