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
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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:
Covered in tattoos, with his hair in a long white braid, the 35-year-old Australian DJ and former boy-band member looks more like an all-night raver than a children’s host.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
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
Even if they started out reticent, the fathers became active participants, asking questions about creating a neat French braid, what to do about tangled ponytails and how to deal with frightened children, Lin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 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
He ran one hand down my braid, smoothing strands of hair that had escaped.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
In the local hair salon, sporting a mane of thick pink braids, is Providence Maseko.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Ms. Luiselli often braids together fact, fiction, photographs, literary references and even recorded “soundscapes” to tell stories about vulnerable people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 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
Her dark hair was in long, thin braids and framed her friendly face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026
My braids were streaming behind me and I was smiling really big, too.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
The 24-year-old office worker found solace in "lompat karet" -- a game from infancy that involves jumping over a long rope made from braided elastic bands.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
In Ancient Egypt, pharaohs and noblewomen wore embellished braided wigs to show power, and in the Middle Ages, women's long hair became associated with femininity and virtue.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Today, she is a pop-culture icon whose indigenous fashion, famous unibrow and braided updos are as commercialized as her artistic output.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
One theory is that the moniker emerged from a cowpoke misinterpretation of the Spanish word galón, for braided hat-bands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026
“If we braided your hair, put you in a red cloak, and you scowled enough, you could fool anyone here,” Ivan said.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
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
“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
He glanced a moment at his mother, 60-year-old Bouthaina Warda, who was braiding his daughter’s hair, then turned to look at the coastal highway heading northward to Gaza City.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2025
For the whole time that Kira was braiding my hair, I said, she talked about my mother—what she remembered, how they lost touch, how she heard about the accident.
From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson
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.
