8️⃣ A double loop ⛸️ A skating pattern 🪢 A stopper knot

figure eight

5.0

A knot tied near the rope end that stops it slipping through a hole and looks like the number eight

noun
/ˈfɪɡjər eɪt/

Specialized

: nudo en figura de ocho

To secure the sail, he tied a figure eight knot in the rope before attaching it to the boat.
make a figure eight

Examples

She used a figure eight knot to prevent the rope from slipping through the pulley.
I nod, soon the man walks away, then I show Max how to make a figure eight, both of us rejoicing in the sharp sparkle of the sun and the relief we get from moving our limbs against the cold.

Fiction book (1998)
During the climbing lesson, the instructor demonstrated how to tie a figure eight knot for safety.

Synonyms

figure of eight

vsfigure eight

Specialized

5.1

A knot shaped like the number eight used to stop a rope slipping

is the same knot but the term drops the small linking word in writing

stopper knot

vsfigure eight

Specialized

5.8

A way of tying the end of a rope to stop it slipping through a hole

is a specific named knot within that stopping category

How Secure

bowline

Specialized

4 8.2

figure eight

Specialized

5.0

weaver's hitch

Specialized

9.5

clove hitch

Specialized

1 8.5

half hitch

Specialized

1 6.5

slipknot

3 5.5

Surface Forms

figure eight singular

figure eights plural

Morphology

figure + eight

The phrase directly combines 'figure' (shape) + 'eight' (the numeral) to denote a shape resembling the digit 8, and the knot meaning is a straightforward descriptive extension of that shape. This compositional, cross-linguistically common naming pattern makes the MWE readily understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The knot called figure eight gets its name because the rope makes a shape like the number eight, and climbers tie it at the rope end to stop it slipping through a hole or pulley. That's why it means 'a knot that stops a rope from slipping'.