carpet

[kahr-pit]

noun

1. a heavy fabric, commonly of wool or nylon, for covering floors.

2. a covering of this material.

3. any relatively soft surface or covering like a carpet.

   They walked on the carpet of grass.

4. any of a number of airborne electronic devices for jamming radar.

5. a system of such devices.

verb (used with object)

1. to cover or furnish with or as with a carpet.

2. Chiefly British.,  to reprimand.

carpet

/ ˈkɑːpɪt /

noun

1. 1. a heavy fabric for covering floors

   2. ( as modifier )

      a carpet sale

2. a covering like a carpet

   a carpet of leaves

3. informal

   1. before authority to be reproved for misconduct or error

   2. under consideration

verb

1. to cover with or as if with a carpet

2. informal,  to reprimand

Other Word Forms

• carpetless adjective
• carpetlike adjective
• recarpet verb (used with object)
• uncarpeted adjective
• well-carpeted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of carpet¹

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)

Word History and Origins

Origin of carpet¹

C14: from Old French carpite, from Old Italian carpita, from Late Latin carpeta, literally: (wool) that has been carded, from Latin carpere to pluck, card

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the carpet,

   1. before an authority or superior for an accounting of one's actions or a reprimand.

      He was called on the carpet again for his carelessness.

   2. Chiefly British. under consideration or discussion.

see call on the carpet; red carpet. Also see under rug.

Example Sentences

He went to some of the film festivals and just returned from “Bugonia’s” London premiere, where he signed autographs on the red carpet and enjoyed flying first class.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He said "the stars in the sky" then aligned, as the following night, he was on the red carpet for the screening of Is This Thing On? at the 69th BFI London Film Festival.

Read more on BBC

“Man, wait until the red carpet when the actor who gave us the Cowardly Lion’s voice steps foot on it,” he said to tease the then-secret casting.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Filming in woods near Nara, and then in the Komyoji forest in Kyoto prefecture, Miyagawa created a latticework of sunlight with tree branches and leaves forming a living carpet of dappled shadows.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A carpet of leaves teems with color and life, an ocean of reds and browns.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• carpeting 
• rug 
• tapestry