1 B2 neutral
To complete or finish a piece of knitting.
"She spent the afternoon knitting up the last few rows of the sweater."
separable
knit up
B2 neutral separable transitive/intransitive
To complete a piece of knitting, or for a wound or injury to heal closed.
In plain English
To finish making something by knitting, or for a cut or sore to heal up and close.
What does "knit up" mean?
3 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 B2 neutral
Of a wound or injury: to close and heal naturally.
"The small cut on his hand knit up cleanly without needing stitches."
3 C1 idiomatic formal
Figuratively, to restore or repair something that is frayed or disordered (especially in literary use).
"Sleep, he hoped, would knit up the exhaustion of a brutal week."
“
Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleeve of care.
— William Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To finish or repair by working yarn upward with needles.
Actually means
To finish making something by knitting, or for a cut or sore to heal up and close.
Usage tip
Used literally in craft contexts (to finish knitting something) and medically (for tissue to close and heal). Literary use also exists — Shakespeare famously used it in Macbeth to refer to sleep 'knitting up' the sleeve of care. Less commonly used today.
Words that pair with "knit up"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
wound sleeve scarf jumper injury tissue care
How to conjugate "knit up"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
knit up
I/you/we/they
3rd person
knits up
he/she/it
Past simple
knited up
yesterday
Past participle
knited up
have + pp
-ing form
kniting up
continuous
Hear "knit up" in the wild
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Other ways to say "knit up"
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Keep exploring
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