A knot serves as the standard maritime metric for velocity, representing a single nautical mile or 1,852 meters covered in sixty minutes. It evaluates a ship's movement through the water or across the seabed, as well as wind and current intensity. Mariners depend on this standard instead of land miles because a nautical mile matches one minute of latitude, which makes chart plotting highly intuitive.
Heard on the job
We're making twelve knots over ground, but the current is holding us back.
Insider tip
Never say 'knots per hour'. A knot is already a rate of speed, so saying 'knots per hour' actually means acceleration.
Also heard as
- kt
- kn