baize

American  

[beyz] / beɪz /

noun

1. a soft, usually green, woolen or cotton fabric resembling felt, used chiefly for the tops of billiard tables.

2. an article of this fabric or of a fabric resembling it.

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verb (used with object)

baized, baizing

1. to line or cover with baize.

baize British  

/ beɪz /

noun

1. a woollen fabric resembling felt, usually green, used mainly for the tops of billiard tables

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verb

1. (tr) to line or cover with such fabric

Etymology

Origin of baize

1570–80; earlier bayes < French baies (noun), Old French ( estoffes fabrics) baies, feminine plural of bai (adj.) bay ⁵

Example Sentences

Williams' cautiousness about going under the knife suggests he still has ambitions to continue on the baize for years to come - and who can blame him.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

Meanwhile, Bristol's Trump was tipped to be the new O'Sullivan of the baize after his breakthrough year, in which he won the China Open, UK Championship and reached the World Championship final.

From BBC • Dec. 6, 2014

In the dining area, with its cream-leather furnishings and 18th-century casts, the walls are lined with a billiard-table baize that stops short of the exposed-beam and brick-hearth soffits. 

From New York Times • Jan. 17, 2014

This is a day sale, so comparatively small, and in the low light paintings blaze from the black baize walls.

From Salon • Jul. 14, 2013

He set it down carefully on the baize cloth.

From "1984" by George Orwell