bight Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a loop in a rope
  2. noun a bend or curve (especially in a coastline)
  3. noun a broad bay formed by an indentation in the shoreline
    • the Bight of Benin
    • the Great Australian Bight
  4. noun the middle part of a slack rope (as distinguished from its ends)
  5. verb fasten with a bight

WordNet

Bight noun
Etymology
OE. bit a bending; cf. Sw. & Dan. bugt bend, bay; fr. AS. byht, fr. bgan. Cf. Bout, Bought a bend, and see Bow, v.
Definitions
  1. A corner, bend, or angle; a hollow; as, the bight of a horse's knee; the bight of an elbow.
  2. (Geog.) A bend in a coast forming an open bay; as, the Bight of Benin.
  3. (Naut.) The double part of a rope when folded, in distinction from the ends; that is, a round, bend, or coil not including the ends; a loop.

Webster 1913