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
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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
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were braidingprogressive
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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:
They dress up, braid their hair in a special way and are free to dance and play together outside, something which is traditionally frowned upon at other times of the year.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
The idea is to have expert hairstylists train uninitiated or intimidated fathers on how to comb and braid their kids’ hair, using salon-type head mannequins but in a setting for bros.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Poised on a colorful, carpeted platform in a gleaming leotard, with a hefty brown braid of hair falling over one shoulder, Folan would spend her program reaching, bending, breathing and twisting her limbs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
“I’ll do a long twist of lemon, lime and either orange or grapefruit and braid them together, like you’re braiding hair,” Caporale says.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2026
She and I were inseparable—literally—her golden brown beachy waves interwoven with my dark brown hair in one shared, thick braid.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
"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
As police searched for the Tesla, they relayed details over the radio: The suspect’s hair was in braids; she wore a cream-colored blouse; her car was dirty on the bottom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 8, 2026
In New York, lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require manufacturers of synthetic braids and hair extensions to disclose all ingredients.
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
There stood a woman with two black braids and a dress stitched with a rainbow of colors.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
They tend to be little, plump, tucked in, braided or rolled up; they have the proportions of toys.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
Nepal's rivers cross a sharp break in slope at the mountain front, drop their sediment, and spread across the plains as braided, shifting channels.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
They walk the streets pomaded, braided, wearing strangely arranged hairdos meant to call attention to themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 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
I note the new cloth banners decorating most of the city as I trek north, braided together in ropes of green, blue, and gold—green for the earth, blue for the sea, gold for the gods.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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
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
Like the Beetle, the dangerous bridge threads throughout “Murderland,” braiding the author’s personal story with those of her cast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
It was with my editor, Damian Rodriguez, a process of interweaving and braiding those three strands.
From Salon ● May 23, 2025
Maybeth sat beside her, braiding sea grass into long and useless lines.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
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.
