lace

[ leys ]

/ leɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lace ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a netlike ornamental fabric made of threads by hand or machine.

a cord or string for holding or drawing together, as when passed through holes in opposite edges.

ornamental cord or braid, especially of gold or silver, used to decorate uniforms, hats, etc.

a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance added to food or drink.

verb (used with object), laced, lac·ing.

to fasten, draw together, or compress by or as if by means of a lace.

to pass (a cord, leather strip, etc.), as through holes.

to interlace or intertwine.

to adorn or trim with lace.

to add a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance to (food or drink): He took his coffee laced with brandy.

to lash, beat, or thrash.

to compress the waist of (a person) by drawing tight the laces of a corset, or the like.

to mark or streak, as with color.

verb (used without object), laced, lac·ing.

to be fastened with a lace: These shoes lace up the side.

to attack physically or verbally (often followed by into): The teacher laced into his students.

Nearby words

Origin of lace

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English las < Old French laz, las ≪ Latin laqueus noose; (v.) Middle English lasen < Middle French lacier, lasser, lachier (French lacer) ≪ Latin laqueāre to enclose in a noose, trap

Related formslace·like, adjectivelac·er, nounre·lace, verb, re·laced, re·lac·ing.well-laced, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lace

One 1918 example, in wispy silk chiffon and lace is even trimmed in mink!
What Lies Beneath: How Lingerie Got Sexy|Raquel Laneri|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the Forum Club, there is taffeta and lace, leather and gold.
Shaq, Year One|Charles P. Pierce|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I wanted the whole dress to glisten, so I used a lace with silver thread in it.
Meet the ‘Downton Abbey’ Costume Queen|Katie Baker|January 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What looked like ethnic or folk iconography was seen in the brightest of colors on suede, lace, and silk chiffon.
Valentino: Fit For a Queen|Alice Cavanagh|October 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Giorgio Armani Privé, which debuted in Paris on Tuesday, featured fine fabrics, loads of lace, and a neutral palette.
Giorgio Armani Fall Winter 2013/2014 Armani Prive Couture Collection|Alice Cavanagh|July 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The whole beauty of Brussels lace depends upon the evenness of the stitches.
Beeton's Book of Needlework|Isabella Beeton
Not one of them but bore its two ankers of the right French cognac, or its bale of silk of Lyons and lace of Valenciennes.
Rodney Stone|Arthur Conan Doyle
It was Mevrouw van Holp arrayed in the grandest of caps and the longest of satin aprons ruffled with lace.
Hans Brinker|Mary Mapes Dodge
Where children are present, the girls are dressed in sheer muslin or lace over silk slips, and adorned with fluttering ribbons.
Social Life|Maud C. Cooke
Lace curtains and moquette carpets would be nowhere apparent.
The Nation in a Nutshell|George Makepeace Towle

British Dictionary definitions for lace

lace

/ (leɪs) /

noun

a delicate decorative fabric made from cotton, silk, etc, woven in an open web of different symmetrical patterns and figures

a cord or string drawn through holes or eyelets or around hooks to fasten a shoe or garment

ornamental braid often used on military uniforms, etc

a dash of spirits added to a beverage

verb

to fasten (shoes, etc) with a lace

(tr) to draw (a cord or thread) through holes, eyes, etc, as when tying shoes

(tr) to compress the waist of (someone), as with a corset

(tr) to add a small amount of alcohol or drugs to (food or drink)

(tr; usually passive and foll by with) to streak or mark with lines or coloursthe sky was laced with red

(tr) to intertwine; interlace

(tr) informal to give a sound beating to

Word Origin for lace

C13 las, from Old French laz, from Latin laqueus noose

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lace (1 of 2)

lace

early 13c., laz, "cord made of braided or interwoven strands of silk, etc.," from Old French laz "a net, noose, string, cord, snare" (Modern French lacs), from Vulgar Latin *lacium, from Latin laqueum (nominative laqueus) "noose, snare" (Italian laccio, Spanish lazo), a trapping and hunting term, probably from Italic base *laq- "to ensnare" (cf. Latin lacere "to entice"). Later also "net, noose, snare" (c.1300); "piece of cord used to draw together the edges of slits or openings in an article of clothing" (late 14c.). The "ornamental net pattern" meaning is first recorded 1550s. Sense of "cord for tying" remains in shoelace. As an adjective, lace-curtain "middle class" (or lower-class with middle-class pretensions) usually is used in reference to Irish-Americans, by 1928.

Word Origin and History for lace (1 of 2)

lace

c.1200, "fasten (clothing, etc.) with laces and ties;" see lace (n.). Also "tighten (a garment) by pulling its laces" (early 14c.). To lace coffee, etc., with a dash of liquor (1670s) originally was used of sugar, and comes via the notion of "to ornament or trim." Related: Laced; lacing. Laced mutton was "an old word for a whore" [Johnson].

lace

noun

verb (used with object), laced, lac·ing.

verb (used without object), laced, lac·ing.

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Origin of lace

Examples from the Web for lace

British Dictionary definitions for lace

lace

noun

verb

Word Origin for lace

Word Origin and History for lace (1 of 2)

lace

Word Origin and History for lace (1 of 2)

lace