lacing

American  

[ley-sing] / ˈleɪ sɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that laces.

2. a trimming of lace or braid.

3. a beating or thrashing.

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

5. a lace used for fastening, as in a shoe or corset.

6. Building Trades, Engineering. any member or members, as a batten plate or steel bars, uniting the angles or flanges of a composite girder, column, or strut.

7. Also called lacing course.  Masonry.

   1. a course of brick in a wall of rubble.

   2. a bond course in a rowlock arch.

8. Nautical. any light line for fastening a sail, awning, or other cloth.

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lacing British  

/ ˈleɪsɪŋ /

noun

1. a course of bricks, stone, etc, for strengthening a rubble or flint wall

2. another word for lace lace

3. informal a severe beating (esp in the phrase give someone a lacing )

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Etymology

Origin of lacing

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at lace, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

So he decides to keep appearing in clubs to tell tales of his relationship woes, lacing the commentary with rueful remarks that are vaguely comic, though nothing he says is actually funny.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

It also feels like a moment — to use a sports metaphor, which I’m not an athlete — that you’re lacing up your shoes.

From Salon • Sep. 13, 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

Skaters are lacing up their customized Stacy Adams boots, which are fully equipped with fiberglass wheels.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2025

He watched me joking with Sharif, watched Soraya and me lacing our fingers together, watched me push back a loose curl of her hair.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Related Words

• beating
• blow
• breakdown
• collapse
• debacle
• destruction
• drubbing
• embarrassment
• failure
• killing
• loss
• massacre
• rout
• setback
• thrashing
• triumph