interlace

American  

[in-ter-leys, in-ter-leys] / ˌɪn tərˈleɪs, ˈɪn tərˌleɪs /

verb (used without object)

interlaced, interlacing

1. to cross one another, typically passing alternately over and under, as if woven together; intertwine.

   Their hands interlaced.

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verb (used with object)

interlaced, interlacing

1. to unite or arrange (threads, strips, parts, branches, etc.) so as to intercross one another, passing alternately over and under; intertwine.

2. to mingle; blend.

3. to diversify, as with threads woven in.

4. to intersperse; intermingle.

   She interlaced her lecture on Schubert with some of his songs.

interlace British  

/ ˌɪntəˈleɪs, ˌɪntəˈleɪsɪdlɪ /

verb

1. to join together (patterns, fingers, etc) by crossing, as if woven; intertwine

2. (tr) to mingle or blend in an intricate way

3. to change the pattern of; diversify; intersperse

   to interlace a speech with humour

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Other Word Forms

• interlacedly
  adverb
• interlacement
  noun
• uninterlaced
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of interlace

1325–75; inter- + lace; replacing Middle English entrelacen < Middle French en-trelacer

Explanation

To interlace is to weave, tangle, or twist things together. When you hold hands with someone, the two of you interlace your fingers. When you do sit ups, you interlace your fingers behind your neck and bend your knees, and if you learn how to make a basket, you'll interlace strips of rattan reeds or willow branches. You can also use this adjective to mean "intersperse," as when you write a short story and attempt to interlace dialogue between paragraphs describing the action. Interlace combines inter-, "between" and the verb lace, "fasten, entwine, or braid."

Example Sentences

Those concepts interlace in his ossuary, enlivened when he plays his tenderly kept records, remnants of human joy all but lost to a Rage pestilence.

From Salon • Jan. 23, 2026

The trick, said Pennes, is to grow vegetables and fruits in separate raised beds and then interlace the remaining ground with native plants.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2025

A 14th-century Hebrew Bible shimmers with Islamic interlace patterns.

From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2022

The totems interlace fabric, twine and what sometimes appear to be animal or human organs.

From Washington Post • Jan. 28, 2022

Trying to interlace, like a clutched desperate prayer, but again, I feel like the hands I am lacing are not my own, like I have borrowed them from a twelve-fingered monster.

From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

Related Words

• interweave