carpet
Americannoun
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carpets
plural
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a heavy fabric, commonly of wool or nylon, for covering floors.
-
a covering of this material.
-
any relatively soft surface or covering like a carpet.
They walked on the carpet of grass.
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any of a number of airborne electronic devices for jamming radar.
-
a system of such devices.
verb (used with object)
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carpets,
present (3rd person singular)
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carpeted,
past participle, past
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carpeting
present participle
-
to cover or furnish with or as with a carpet.
-
Chiefly British. to reprimand.
idioms
noun
-
-
a heavy fabric for covering floors
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( as modifier )
a carpet sale
-
-
a covering like a carpet
a carpet of leaves
-
informal
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before authority to be reproved for misconduct or error
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under consideration
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verb
-
to cover with or as if with a carpet
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informal to reprimand
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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recarpetverb (used with object)
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carpetlessadjective
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carpetlikeadjective
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uncarpetedadjective
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well-carpetedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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carpetsimple
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carpetssimple
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have carpetedperfect
-
has carpetedperfect
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am carpetingprogressive
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are carpetingprogressive
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is carpetingprogressive
-
have been carpetingperfect progressive
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has been carpetingperfect progressive
Past
-
carpetedsimple
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had carpetedperfect
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was carpetingprogressive
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were carpetingprogressive
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had been carpetingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of carpet
1300–50; Middle English carpete cloth covering for a table, floor, bed, etc. < Middle French carpite or Medieval Latin carpīta < Italian carpita woolen bedspread < Vulgar Latin *carpīta, past participle of carpīre, for Latin carpere to pluck, card (wool)
Explanation
A carpet is a thick, woven floor covering. Most carpets cover the whole floor in a room, as opposed to a rug, which only covers a small section. Carpets are made from polyester fibers, or wool, or nylon — most often, these soft materials are loops or strings that form the carpet's "pile," and are attached to a solid backing. A carpet can be very densely woven and flat, or it can be tufted and thick. To carpet means to cover something as if with a carpet: "Then the snow carpets the ground, and winter is here."
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:
Concerned tourism operators in some US border states are rolling out the red carpet with discounts for Canadians.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Not long ago, politicians on both sides of the aisle were eagerly rolling out the red carpet for AI data centers, promising tech-driven economic booms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Excellent, if your tastes trend toward carpet tiles, hospital lighting, and the trapped-animal sensation of entering a room with no exit.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
She also donned red carpet maternity wear at The Odyssey's US premiere in New York on 14 July.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
A few faded petals clung now to the new-leafed branches, but most of the Bride’s flowers had fallen, forming a wilted carpet beneath us.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The government has also introduced "geographical indication" tags that help distinguish genuine Kashmiri carpets from cheap imitations.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
She panics on red carpets and says interviews make her nervous, although she certainly doesn’t seem it today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
The Backrooms began with a single unsettling image posted anonymously online: a claustrophobic warren of tawdrily yellow, windowless rooms with aged carpets and harsh overhead fluorescent lights.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
So do the animal-shaped wool carpets that riff on traditional skin rugs by using vegetarian-friendly materials to create colorful, flattened creatures: a fiery, spotted cheetah; a purple-striped dodo; a particularly silly mammoth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
He peered around the cozy space, covered with red and black carpets and paintings of the Afghan countryside.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
The couples made their way onto the carpeted floor as Moon sprinkled Holy water onto them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Swaths of the region are carpeted in grasses that each year grow and then die, creating what Acuña described as a patchwork of layers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
That the world is made of green fields carpeted with sweet grass, where nothing bad ever happens.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
Depending on where you are reading this, your doormat may have been carpeted with colourful leaflets for weeks and your TV and social media feeds chocca with political promises.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
By the time land finally appeared in the distance—a hilly island carpeted with low stone buildings—Jason was soaked in sweat.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
The seats themselves are crappy and hard; the upholstery might as well be outdoor carpeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Property damage looks like stained carpeting, unusual paint colors or damaged appliances.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026
Working together, the couple removed the shag carpeting and wood paneling from the first floor and the stairway, installing drywall in their place.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
As a child in the late 1970s and early ’80s, I fondly recall grand movie houses with chandeliers, carpeting and upholstered seats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025
I’d covered the walls, floor, and ceiling with Styrofoam egg cartons and pieces of carpeting in an effort to soundproof the van as much as possible.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
