What does knight mean?
Word: Knight
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Knight means a man of high rank in the past who served a king or queen and rode a horse. Today it is also a man given a special title in Britain, and a chess piece shaped like a horse's head.
How do you spell knight?
Syllables: knight
Tricky part: The k at the start is silent, so knight sounds exactly like another, more common word that has no k. Let the meaning tell you which one you need.
Watch out for: knite, knigt
Memory tip: The k in knight is like a guard at the castle gate: always standing there, never making a sound.
Knight in a sentence
Example 1: In the old tale, a knight and his young helper travelled to a faraway castle.
Example 2: Several famous British scientists have been made knights for their work.
Example 3: Aditi moved her knight forward and won the game three moves later.
Fun Fact
Long ago the k in knight was spoken, so the word sounded more like 'k-nicht'; over the centuries people stopped saying it, but the spelling kept it.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) sleigh
b) delight
c) height
d) knigth
Show answer
d) knigth. In knight the g comes before the h, the same order as in light and bright.
Word Twins
Fill both blanks and choose the correct option:
1. In the fairy tale, the ___ rode his horse across the wooden bridge and into the town. 2. The stars were bright in the clear ___ sky over the desert.
a) 'night' in both
b) knight/night
c) night/knight
d) 'knight' in both
Show answer
b) knight/night. The rider in the fairy tale is a knight; the dark time when stars come out is night.
Word Champ
Read the statements and choose the correct option:
1. In chess, a knight moves in an L shape. 2. A rook in chess moves only along the diagonals. 3. The king can move one square in any direction.
a) only 1 and 2 are true
b) only 1 and 3 are true
c) all three are true
d) only 2 and 3 are true
Show answer
b) only 1 and 3 are true. A rook moves along straight rows and columns, so statement 2 is false.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with knight?
knight
a) weight
b) kite
c) bite
d) height
Show answer
a) weight. Weight has the ay sound of wait; the other three end like knight.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. In Britain, which title does a knight use before his first name?
a) Master
b) Mister
c) Lord
d) Sir
Show answer
d) Sir
2. Which word describes how a knight was expected to behave towards others?
a) boastful
b) careless
c) impatient
d) courteous
Show answer
d) courteous
