braid
Americanverb (used with object)
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braids,
present (3rd person singular)
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braided,
past participle, past
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braiding
present participle
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to weave together strips or strands of; plait.
to braid the hair.
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to form by such weaving.
to braid a rope.
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to bind or confine (the hair) with a band, ribbon, etc.
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to trim with braid, as a garment.
noun
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braids
plural
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a braided length or plait, especially of hair.
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a hairstyle formed by interweaving three or more strands of hair.
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a narrow, ropelike band formed by plaiting or weaving together several strands of silk, cotton, or other material, used as trimming for garments, drapery, etc.
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a band, ribbon, etc., for binding or confining the hair.
verb
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to interweave several strands of (hair, thread, etc); plait
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to make by such weaving
to braid a rope
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to dress or bind (the hair) with a ribbon, etc
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to decorate with an ornamental trim or border
to braid a skirt
noun
-
a length of hair, fabric, etc, that has been braided; plait
-
narrow ornamental tape of woven silk, wool, etc
adjective
adverb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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braidsimple
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braidssimple
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have braidedperfect
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has braidedperfect
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am braidingprogressive
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are braidingprogressive
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is braidingprogressive
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have been braidingperfect progressive
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has been braidingperfect progressive
Past
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braidedsimple
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had braidedperfect
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was braidingprogressive
-
were braidingprogressive
-
had been braidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of braid
First recorded before 950; Middle English braiden, breiden (verb), Old English bregdan “to move quickly, move to and fro, weave”; cognate with Old Norse bregtha, Dutch breien
Explanation
To braid is to lace or weave together. Hair that has been done this way is in braids. Have you ever seen someone with their hair bound together in thick, rope-like arrangements? That hairdo is called braids. Women often braid each other's hair or get it braided by a hairdresser. The longer your hair, the longer your potential braids. To braid hair, you have to weave the strands of hair together: this is also called plaiting, lacing, and interlacing. Other materials can be braided, but the most popular thing to braid is definitely hair.
Vocabulary lists containing braid
Shear Genius: Hairy Vocabulary
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List 1
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Buffalo Dreamer
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In the middle of all this activity stands Noah, a red-cheeked, curly-haired little boy with nothing to braid.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Her hair in a braid evokes the look of a figure from ancient Rome.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Or made by the woman in your apartment building who has both a co-op volunteering shift and a single, long gray braid.
From Salon ● Jan. 13, 2026
Those are the two pieces that braid together so nicely.
From Slate ● Jan. 10, 2026
He ran one hand down my braid, smoothing strands of hair that had escaped.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
"When I've had my braids when I was younger, people would come up to me all the time and ask and I'd be writing the phone numbers down."
From BBC ● Apr. 1, 2026
At the national level, the Safer Beauty Bill Package, introduced in Congress last year, contains provisions that would direct the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the safety of synthetic braids and hair extensions.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2026
In a typical scene, Miss Holland, played by Van der Velden with milkmaid braids and hairy armpits, chokes on the aerosol of a spray tan.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
Once Chantel returns home and finishes Sydney’s braids, T.J. sends the chef off with a tight embrace and the ultimate compliment.
From Salon ● Oct. 25, 2025
The first two to Taeyoung and Taemin, fraternal twins, who looked exactly alike except that Taeyoung wore her hair in long braids and Taemin kept his head shaved due to the heat.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
Prof Ramesh says a CME occurs when these twisting, looping lines - which resemble braided hair - rupture, throwing out massive clouds of magnetised plasma and gas in space.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Yurok Tribe construction and fisheries crews pulled up roughly 20 acres of thick asphalt, restored the channel to a mile-long braided waterway and built wetlands and two ponds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The wider public discovered Monroe, sporting long braided hair, in a TV talent show dedicated to young classical music virtuosos.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
When they exchange places, their trajectories become braided together through space and time.
From Science Daily ● May 9, 2026
“She taught you how to make cherry cobbler. She braided your hair when you spent the night...and she listened to all your stories about your mama...”
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
Deep in a braiding craze, the children can’t resist braiding everything in sight: hair, shoelaces, even the tails of the classroom’s toy ponies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
With a few snips of her scissors, a plain whiteboard rag transforms into three strips of cloth perfect for braiding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Jocelyn Bioh’s high-spirited ensemble comedy, vibrantly directed by Whitney White, took us inside the lives of the African immigrant women who work at a Harlem braiding salon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025
Visitors can learn about braiding styles and hair-care techniques passed down through generations.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2025
Ash spent longer than she should have braiding small pearls into Clara’s hair, so that when Jonas drove into the courtyard with their carriage, they were late.
From "Ash" by Malinda Lo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
