PLAIT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does plait mean? 

• PLAIT (noun)
  The noun PLAIT has 2 senses:

1. a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair

2. any of various types of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and then pressing or stitching into shape

  Familiarity information: PLAIT used as a noun is rare.

• PLAIT (verb)
  The verb PLAIT has 2 senses:

1. make by braiding or interlacing

2. weave into plaits

  Familiarity information: PLAIT used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PLAIT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

braid; plait; tress; twist

Hypernyms ("plait" is a kind of...):

coif; coiffure; hair style; hairdo; hairstyle (the arrangement of the hair (especially a woman's hair))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plait"):

queue (a braid of hair at the back of the head)

pigtail (a plait of braided hair)

Derivation:

plait (weave into plaits)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of various types of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and then pressing or stitching into shape

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

plait; pleat

Hypernyms ("plait" is a kind of...):

bend; crease; crimp; flexure; fold; plication (an angular or rounded shape made by folding)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "plait"):

box pleat (a flat double pleat made by folding under the fabric on either side of it)

inverted pleat (a box pleat reversed so that the fullness is turned inward)

kick pleat (pleat in back of a straight skirt to allow ease in walking)

knife pleat (a single pleat turned in one direction)

tuck (a narrow flattened pleat or fold that is stitched in place)

Derivation:

plait (make by braiding or interlacing)

• PLAIT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they plait    ... he / she / it plaits   
Past simple: plaited   
Past participle: plaited   
-ing form: plaiting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make by braiding or interlacing

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

braid; lace; plait

Context example:

lace a tablecloth

Hypernyms (to "plait" is one way to...):

tissue; weave (create a piece of cloth by interlacing strands of fabric, such as wool or cotton)

Domain category:

handicraft (a craft that requires skillful hands)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

plait (any of various types of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and then pressing or stitching into shape)

plaiter (someone who plaits (hair or fabric etc.))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Weave into plaits

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

plait hair

Hypernyms (to "plait" is one way to...):

interweave; weave (interlace by or as if by weaving)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

They plait their hair

Derivation:

plait (a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair)

plaiter (someone who plaits (hair or fabric etc.))

 Context examples 

She procured plain work; she plaited straw and by various means contrived to earn a pittance scarcely sufficient to support life.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

And then she had such a fine head of hair; raven-black and so becomingly arranged: a crown of thick plaits behind, and in front the longest, the glossiest curls I ever saw.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She was sitting by Edward, and in taking his tea from Mrs. Dashwood, his hand passed so directly before her, as to make a ring, with a plait of hair in the centre, very conspicuous on one of his fingers.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Their leaders were a small man, dark in the face, with his beard done up in two plaits, and another larger man, very bowed in the shoulders, with a huge club studded with sharp nails in his hand.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Yet she was meanly dressed, a coarse blue petticoat and a linen jacket being her only garb; her fair hair was plaited but not adorned: she looked patient yet sad.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Madam, he pursued, I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world: my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety, not with braided hair and costly apparel; and each of the young persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits which vanity itself might have woven; these, I repeat, must be cut off; think of the time wasted, of—Mr. Brocklehurst was here interrupted: three other visitors, ladies, now entered the room.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)