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becket bend

becket bend

9.9
A knot that ties one rope to the middle of another rope or to a loop
  • noun
  • /ˈbɛkɪt bɛnd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : nudo de becket
  • The becket bend is a reliable knot when you need to attach a new rope to a loop.

Examples

  • Sailors often rely on the becket bend for temporary tie-downs on deck.

  • The sailor demonstrated how to make a becket bend.

  • Before lifting the load, he secured the rope using a becket bend.

  • He tied the rope using a becket bend.

  • Before lifting the load, he secured the rope using a becket bend.

  • Sailors often rely on the becket bend for temporary tie-downs on deck.

  • The becket bend is a reliable knot for joining two ropes in lifting applications.

Synonyms

sheet bend
vsbecket bend
  • Jargon
1 8.4

A knot used to join one rope to another, even when they are different thicknesses

is the same but used in other domains such as climbing
weaver's hitch
vsbecket bend
  • Specialized
9.5

A knot for tying one rope temporarily to the middle of another rope or to a loop

is the same knot but called differently
weaver's knot
vsbecket bend
  • Specialized
8.9

To tie one rope or thread temporarily to the middle of another rope to join them

is similar but used more broadly beyond weaving

Surface Forms

becket bend singular
becket bends plural

Morphology

becket + bend

This is a specialized nautical term: the sense of 'becket' is rare and 'bend' here uses a technical knot sense that most B1 learners do not know (they know 'bend' as a curve). Because the idiomatic, domain-specific meaning of the compound relies on specialist senses rather than ordinary compositional meanings, a B1 learner who only knows common senses of the parts would not be able to derive the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Becket bend comes from old rope work: a becket was a small 'loop' or 'eye' on a rope, and a bend was a knot used to join two lines. So the becket bend is the knot used to attach a rope to that 'loop', which is why it means 'a knot used to tie a rope to the middle of another rope or to an eye' today.