braid

American  

[breyd] / breɪd /

verb (used with object)

• braids,
  present (3rd person singular)
• braided,
  past participle,  past
• braiding
  present participle

1. to weave together strips or strands of; plait.

   to braid the hair.

2. to form by such weaving.

   to braid a rope.

3. to bind or confine (the hair) with a band, ribbon, etc.

4. to trim with braid, as a garment.

---

noun

• braids
  plural

1. a braided length or plait, especially of hair.

2. a hairstyle formed by interweaving three or more strands of hair.

3. 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.

4. a band, ribbon, etc., for binding or confining the hair.

braid ¹ British  

/ breɪd /

verb

1. to interweave several strands of (hair, thread, etc); plait

2. to make by such weaving

   to braid a rope

3. to dress or bind (the hair) with a ribbon, etc

4. to decorate with an ornamental trim or border

   to braid a skirt

---

noun

1. a length of hair, fabric, etc, that has been braided; plait

2. narrow ornamental tape of woven silk, wool, etc

braid ² British  

/ breɪd, bred /

adjective

1. broad

---

adverb

1. broadly; frankly

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• braider
  noun
• well-braided
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• braids
  plural

Participles

• braiding
  present
• braided
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• braid
  simple
• braids
  simple
• have braided
  perfect
• has braided
  perfect
• am braiding
  progressive
• are braiding
  progressive
• is braiding
  progressive
• have been braiding
  perfect progressive
• has been braiding
  perfect progressive

Past

• braided
  simple
• had braided
  perfect
• was braiding
  progressive
• were braiding
  progressive
• had been braiding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will braid
  simple
• will have braided
  perfect
• will be braiding
  progressive
• will have been braiding
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

braid braids braided braiding

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

In the middle of all this activity stands Noah, a red-cheeked, curly-haired little boy with nothing to braid.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Or made by the woman in your apartment building who has both a co-op volunteering shift and a single, long gray braid.

From Salon ● Jan. 13, 2026

Those are the two pieces that braid together so nicely.

From Slate ● Jan. 10, 2026

I swept my braid over my shoulder to drape onto my chest.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Dressed in svelte black athleisure with a close-cropped haircut, the 28-year-old Lacy was less flamboyant than he’d looked in recent years, when he sported long braids and sunglasses that covered half his head.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

"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

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

The inhabitants have braids that function like USB cables that can be plugged into the nearest plant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025

Yolanda had TEN braids on each side today.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

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

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

When they exchange places, their trajectories become braided together through space and time.

From Science Daily ● May 9, 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

They were flanked by two big footmen in powdered wigs and braided coats, satin knee britches and white stockings.

From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck

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

To prepare for their roles, the actors took three braiding workshops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025

It was with my editor, Damian Rodriguez, a process of interweaving and braiding those three strands.

From Salon ● May 23, 2025

Nan always went along with my projects, but this rally was worlds different than putting up removable wallpaper or braiding our own rag rugs.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Related Words

• pigtail
• ponytail