pleat

1 of 2

verb

ˈplēt How to pronounce pleat (audio)
pleated; pleating; pleats
Synonyms of pleatnext

transitive verb

1
: fold
especially : to arrange in pleats
pleat a skirt
2
: plait sense 2
pleater noun

pleat

2 of 2

noun

: a fold in cloth made by doubling material over on itself
also : something resembling such a fold
pleatless
ˈplēt-ləs How to pronounce pleat (audio)
adjective

Synonyms

Verb

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Examples of pleat in a Sentence

Verb pleat ribbons Noun Her skirt has pleats at the waist.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The dress creates a longline, bodycon silhouette, molding to curves and falling below the knee with elegant fishtail pleating. —Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 18 May 2024 The pants have a timelessly chic look, with a hidden button closure, subtle pleating, angled side pockets, and a hemline that falls just below the ankle. —Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for pleat 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pleat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English pleiten, derivative of playte, pleit pleat entry 2

Noun

Middle English playte, pleit, plite, pliȝt "fold, fold in cloth made by doubling over material, wrinkle, braid, strand in a braided cord, unit of measure for cloth," borrowed from Anglo-French pleit, plet, plite, playe "fold, bend, unit of cloth, knot, twist," going back to Vulgar Latin *plictum "something folded," noun derivative from neuter of Latin plictus, variant of plicātus, past participle of plicāre "to fold, bend" — more at ply entry 3

Note: The form plictus is apparently attested as a variant of plicātus in manuscripts of Seneca's letters (see Oxford Latin Dictionary and note at explicit). — The Middle English word shows many spellings and has given rise to markedly diverse outcomes in Modern English. The modern form pleat /plit/ would appear to be a regular development of the French diphthongal spelling pleit (compare Anglo-French pais, peis "peace," fait "feat," etc.). The spelling plait entry 1, if pronounced /pleɪt/, either retains the diphthong (until merger with /ɛ:/ from Middle English long a) or represents some other alteration. If pronounced /plæt/, the word is in effect a spelling variant of plat entry 2, a noun derivative of plat entry 1. In addition, there is plet, going back to later Middle English plet, plette, which the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, characterizes as now "chiefly Scottish and Irish English"; it may result from shortening of the form with /ɛ:/ that gave rise to pleat.

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pleat was in the 14th century

Phrases Containing pleat

Dictionary Entries Near pleat

pleasurist

pleat

pleater tape

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Pleat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pleat. Accessed 29 May. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

pleat

1 of 2 verb
ˈplēt How to pronounce pleat (audio)
1
: to fold or arrange in pleats
pleat a skirt
2
: braid entry 1 sense 1
pleater noun

pleat

2 of 2 noun
: a fold (as in cloth) made by doubling material over on itself

More from Merriam-Webster on pleat

Nglish: Translation of pleat for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway

How to Use Accents and Diacritical Marks
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Pilfer: How to Play and Win

The Words of the Week - May 24

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

9 Superb Owl Words

10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...