interlace
Americanverb (used without object)
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interlaces,
present (3rd person singular)
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interlaced,
past participle, past
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interlacing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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interlaces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
interlaced,
past participle, past
-
interlacing
present participle
-
to unite or arrange (threads, strips, parts, branches, etc.) so as to intercross one another, passing alternately over and under; intertwine.
-
to mingle; blend.
-
to diversify, as with threads woven in.
-
to intersperse; intermingle.
She interlaced her lecture on Schubert with some of his songs.
verb
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to join together (patterns, fingers, etc) by crossing, as if woven; intertwine
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(tr) to mingle or blend in an intricate way
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to change the pattern of; diversify; intersperse
to interlace a speech with humour
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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interlacesimple
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interlacessimple
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have interlacedperfect
-
has interlacedperfect
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am interlacingprogressive
-
are interlacingprogressive
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is interlacingprogressive
-
have been interlacingperfect progressive
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has been interlacingperfect progressive
Past
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interlacedsimple
-
had interlacedperfect
-
was interlacingprogressive
-
were interlacingprogressive
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had been interlacingperfect progressive
Future
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."
Vocabulary lists containing interlace
You Bring the Distant Near
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Will Grayson, Will Grayson
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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:
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
The totems interlace fabric, twine and what sometimes appear to be animal or human organs.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 28, 2022
On their way out of a spider’s bottom, the protein building blocks in silk, called spidroins, fold themselves and interlace, creating a highly organized structure without guidance from any outside force.
From New York Times ● Nov. 4, 2020
I slide my steepled fingers, slowly, watching them interlace.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
“Eat Your Mind” effectively interlaces Acker’s books with the events in her life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2022
And yet “A Voyage to Arcturus” is deservedly regarded as titanic, the depiction of a spiritual rite of passage that interlaces death and renewal with a quest for transcendence.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 16, 2021
Like the concluding scene of a Shakespearean romance, it interlaces a variety of jangling, disparate elements into the semblance of cosmic harmony.
From New York Times ● Sep. 15, 2019
They disbanded after eight years in what she describes as “fraught” circumstances, and the sense that her band members never took her seriously still interlaces her conversation.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 21, 2019
Mrs. Gruver sits down and interlaces her hands.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
"Dao" depicts two interlaced events: a wedding near Paris and a funeral ceremony in Guinea-Bissau.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
Gathering bits and pieces as rendered in English, the songs are remarkably conversational and down to earth, with humor and fragments of pop culture interlaced with poetic musings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
The Phryges are red, white and blue to reflect France’s tri-colored flag and wear the gold Paris 2024 logo — including the Olympic symbol of five interlaced rings — on their chests.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2024
As the star shows began, our fingers interlaced in the dark.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
I see that when we go underground the clean, dependable lines of the street plan are interlaced with a twisting, turning mess of tunnels.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
An interlacing of memoir and anecdote, it begins with the author as a young boy, growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., left agog by the Bronx Zoo’s immersive Amazon exhibit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Piker began surreptitiously interlacing those uploads with the rest of the company’s Facebook library.
From Slate ● Feb. 18, 2025
Besides interlacing environmental, scientific and social themes that whirl through zealotry and nihilism, it’s also a first-contact scenario that forces a reckoning.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2024
Coldplay is renowned for interlacing its values with its shows, such as the band’s push for environmental sustainability.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 10, 2023
They picked a way among the trees, and their ponies plodded along, carefully avoiding the many writhing and interlacing roots.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
