weave
Americanverb (used with object)
-
weaves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
weaved,
past participle, past
-
wove,
past
-
woven,
past participle
-
weaving
present participle
-
to interlace (threads, yarns, strips, fibrous material, etc.) so as to form a fabric or material.
-
to form by interlacing threads, yarns, strands, or strips of some material.
to weave a basket; to weave cloth.
-
to form by combining various elements or details into a connected whole.
to weave a tale; to weave a plan.
-
to introduce as an element or detail into a connected whole (usually followed by in orinto ).
She wove an old folk melody into her latest musical composition.
- Synonyms:
- intermingle, intermix, insert
-
to direct or move along in a winding or zigzag course; move from side to side, especially to avoid obstructions.
to weave one's way through traffic.
verb (used without object)
-
weaves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
weaved,
past participle, past
-
wove,
past
-
woven,
past participle
-
weaving
present participle
-
to form or construct something, as fabric, by interlacing threads, yarns, strips, etc.
-
to compose a connected whole by combining various elements or details.
-
to be or become formed or composed from the interlacing of materials or the combining of various elements.
The yarn wove into a beautiful fabric.
-
to move or proceed in a winding course or from side to side.
dancers weaving in time to the music.
verb
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to form (a fabric) by interlacing (yarn, etc), esp on a loom
-
(tr) to make or construct by such a process
to weave a shawl
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(tr) to make or construct (an artefact, such as a basket) by interlacing (a pliable material, such as cane)
-
(of a spider) to make (a web)
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(tr) to construct by combining separate elements into a whole
-
(tr; often foll by in, into, through, etc) to introduce
to weave factual details into a fiction
-
to create (a way, etc) by moving from side to side
to weave through a crowd
-
(intr) () vet science (of a stabled horse) to swing the head, neck, and body backwards and forwards
-
informal to hurry; start to do something
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
weavesimple
-
weavessimple
-
have weavedperfect
-
have wovenperfect
-
has weavedperfect
-
has wovenperfect
-
am weavingprogressive
-
are weavingprogressive
-
is weavingprogressive
-
have been weavingperfect progressive
-
has been weavingperfect progressive
Past
-
weavedsimple
-
wovesimple
-
had weavedperfect
-
had wovenperfect
-
was weavingprogressive
-
were weavingprogressive
-
had been weavingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of weave
before 900; Middle English weven, Old English wefan; cognate with German weben, Old Norse vefa; see web
Explanation
Weaving involves lacing strips of fabric, string, or some other material together to make something. You can weave wool to make a rug, or weave the details of a story together to make a great book. While weave originally only meant to make cloth by interlacing material, it later came to also mean more generally “combine into a whole.” Think of a spider and how it weaves its web, or of how some songs expertly weave in unexpected elements, like the sound of a siren or the waves crashing. You can also use weave to describe a swaying motion, like that of a car darting through traffic when it’s trying to move ahead.
Vocabulary lists containing weave
Native American History - Introductory
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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:
From there, they’re forced to weave through high-traffic streets in neighborhoods including Lincoln Heights, Chinatown, Downtown L.A. and Boyle Heights before they find the path again in Vernon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Marked by veils of heavily diluted color that are rubbed into the canvas weave to create a weightless, matte effect, its soft, evanescent surface was intended to read, Whistler said, “like breath on glass.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
Cotton and linen are often comfortable because they absorb moisture and allow air movement, although fabric weave, thickness and moisture handling also matter.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
As activists gather beneath tarpaulin sheets in New Delhi, often holding all-night political debates, singing or reciting poetry, delivery drivers from online platforms weave through the barricades.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Perhaps the Holy Beings could bless her shoulder so that she could weave again.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
That would break the spell Miyazaki weaves in every frame leading up to that moment.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Elon Green weaves the mystery’s disparate threads into a single, unforgettable narrative.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
A new species of spider which weaves a catapult-like silk trap to snare a single type of ant has been discovered in the remote rainforests of northern Australia.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
He weaves the stories together with musicians from perennially imperiled New Orleans performing for his interviewees at a “welcome table” on a levee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
They wore embroidered caftans and spicy perfume, their Chinese weaves hanging down to their backs, their conversation lined with a hard-edged worldliness, their laughter short and scornful.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Linda Cantey had the sound of her mobile turned off the night the Atlas Wildfire weaved a path of destruction through her section of Napa, California.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Throughout the video, Parton weaved her cheery demeanor and wit in with the more serious tidbits about her health and grief.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
Governments are so in awe of the tales weaved by tech bros about the coming artificial-intelligence future, she says, that they have given them a free pass to do pretty much whatever they want.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
And weaved into the outfit's feminine cut and low-key tones are connotations of "stability, dependence, soft power", she says.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2025
They weaved through a row of twinkling starpost stationery, which waxed and waned like the stars themselves.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
He was one of the few who wove what was happening in the country into his material.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
After just four overs from the quicks, the spinners took centre stage and wove a web around the Sri Lankan batters, much as they had throughout the tour.
From Barron's ● Feb. 3, 2026
The idea of craft is, to her, “like regarding a vast tapestry and saying, This is how I wove the blue part.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
Perez did what she knew how: wove her pain and anger and devastation into music, writing the soul-stirring tribute, “Celene.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2025
The Basmu serpent thrashed desperately as more and more golden threads wove over its body, locking it down segment by segment.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Garner raises them primarily for meat and fiber, which is woven into all manner of snuggly garments — cardigans, parkas, scarves and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
But I have somehow assembled enough glittering people and enough secondhand objects — a woven rug, cushions, low tables, an impossible number of candles — that it feels like a tiny seventh-floor pop-up restaurant.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
For now, the humble paper check remains too deeply woven into the fabric of American life to truly rest in peace — even if writing one means playing a riskier game with swindlers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
On one side stood people wearing silver bracelets engraved with the emblem of the Church of Scientology, an “S” woven through two triangles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
She produced a bowl of rainwater and a soft cloth, made from shredded and woven oak leaves.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
I frequently struggle to find the right words to describe the elements weaving together the concrete and the conceptual, so I find it simpler to sum up all that as magic.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
Dr. Snyder began by weaving together evidentiary strands collected by other investigators in the 1950s and ’60s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
In the group stages, Kerim Alajbegovic's goal for Bosnia-Herzegovina against Qatar was a superb solo effort - a weaving run before a rising right-foot shot of high class.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
With spinning, weaving, dyeing and knitting facilities -- the Glo-Djigbe site exported its first garments in 2024 for the French retailer Kiabi, followed by other international brands such as US Polo.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Zed threw a few fake punches and zipped his feet back and forth like he was bobbing and weaving to avoid an opponent in the ring.
From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen
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.
