lace
Americannoun
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a netlike ornamental fabric made of threads by hand or machine.
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a cord or string for holding or drawing together, as when passed through holes in opposite edges.
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ornamental cord or braid, especially of gold or silver, used to decorate uniforms, hats, etc.
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a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance added to food or drink.
verb (used with object)
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to fasten, draw together, or compress by or as if by means of a lace.
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to pass (a cord, leather strip, etc.), as through holes.
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to interlace or intertwine.
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to adorn or trim with lace.
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to add a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance to (food or drink).
He took his coffee laced with brandy.
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to lash, beat, or thrash.
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to compress the waist of (a person) by drawing tight the laces of a corset, or the like.
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to mark or streak, as with color.
verb (used without object)
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to be fastened with a lace.
These shoes lace up the side.
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to attack physically or verbally (often followed byinto ).
The teacher laced into his students.
noun
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a delicate decorative fabric made from cotton, silk, etc, woven in an open web of different symmetrical patterns and figures
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a cord or string drawn through holes or eyelets or around hooks to fasten a shoe or garment
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ornamental braid often used on military uniforms, etc
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a dash of spirits added to a beverage
verb
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to fasten (shoes, etc) with a lace
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(tr) to draw (a cord or thread) through holes, eyes, etc, as when tying shoes
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(tr) to compress the waist of (someone), as with a corset
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(tr) to add a small amount of alcohol or drugs to (food or drink)
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to streak or mark with lines or colours
the sky was laced with red
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(tr) to intertwine; interlace
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informal (tr) to give a sound beating to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lacesimple
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lacessimple
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have lacedperfect
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has lacedperfect
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am lacingprogressive
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are lacingprogressive
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is lacingprogressive
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have been lacingperfect progressive
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has been lacingperfect progressive
Past
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lacedsimple
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had lacedperfect
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was lacingprogressive
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were lacingprogressive
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had been lacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
Your grandmother's kitchen curtains might be made from lace, a delicate fabric with twists and loops forming patterns of holes. Lace is often used for fancy dresses, special doilies and tablecloths, and decorative accents. You can also use the noun lace to describe the cord you tie your sneakers with, and the verb lace can mean twist or braid or intertwine: "The two friends lace their arms around each other and skip across the playground." Lace is surprisingly related to lasso, a loop of rope carried by a cowboy — both words are rooted in the Latin laqueus, "noose or snare."
Vocabulary lists containing lace
Flying Lessons & Other Stories
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The Mayor of Casterbridge
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Fabulous Fabrics
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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:
In “Self-Portrait With Necklace,” a string of blue jadestones rests on Kahlo’s bare neck, above the fringes of a lace blouse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Since then, several technical studies and two test trips with a full-scale reproduction of the tapestry have been undertaken to meet the logistical challenge of transporting a work as delicate as lace.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
They said no DNA belonging to their client had been found on key exhibits in recent tests, including the lace.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
There’s a friendship bracelet from a volunteer trip to Haiti, a horseshoe found on a Grand Canyon trail and antique lace from a market in Bruges, Belgium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
My grandmother, dressed in black lace, went thumping across the floor of the Lounge and halted in front of the Jenkins's table.
From "The Witches" by Roald Dahl
Alphie told The Nolan Show that Donall brushes his teeth three times and check his laces six times before he is ready for the day.
From BBC ● Apr. 7, 2026
Heading into the exhibition I was eager to see what 18th-century ribbons and laces if not frock coats and gowns would be displayed as ancillary objects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026
A spoonful of brown sugar becomes caramel as it melts; diced apples collapse into little pockets of warmth; cinnamon laces the air with something almost nostalgic.
From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2025
“I don’t use the laces when I throw the ball,” George said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
She laces the pouch around my waist, then covers it with a waist-sash embroidered with the house emblem.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
To some degree, the AI race is laced with inflation concerns for the stock market in the near term, as strong demand for chips has led to pricing power for companies that make them.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 5, 2026
Microplastics also get released into the environment when people use products laced with the particles.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
A couple of days later, I was in our nation’s seat of power, the Florsheims in question laced firmly onto my feet.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
In her memory, Ms. Phillips writes, “the brother closest to me whispers, their wings are flying up, as singed leaves laced with sparks scatter drowsily higher.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The R dwarfed the other letters, the tail of it ran down into the cambric, away from the laced edge.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Its asymmetrical lacing design gave players a larger striking surface on the inside of the foot, enhancing the control of the ball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025
He admits to targeting another summer or two as an England player, but doubts he will follow Anderson lacing up the boots into his fifth decade.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2025
He said that in 15 years of lacing up his cleats, he could only recall one minor muscle pull.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2025
Tillman, by the way, is fantastic here – moving and undulating along with the instrumentalists, lacing the music's joy with the character's menace.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2025
Men stand over its seams, bending at the waist and lacing its pieces together.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
