lacy
adjective
of or resembling lace; lacelike.
lacy
1 American
[ley-see]
/ ˈleɪ si /
adjective
-
lacier,
comparative
-
laciest
superlative
Lacy
2
American
[ley-see]
/ ˈleɪ si /
noun
lacy
British
/ ˈleɪsɪ /
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of lacy
Explanation
Lacy means gauzy and delicate, with small, ornate details. Think of your grandma's lacy kitchen curtains or the lacy fronds of a fern. This adjective means "like lace," that gauzy fabric that's patterned with tiny holes. You might decorate a table with lacy doilies or a lacy tablecloth, wear a long skirt with a lacy flounce at the bottom, or tidy the lacy throw pillows on a couch. This type of delicate pattern in nature is also lacy: "I love looking at the sun filtering through the lacy leaves of the big oak tree."
Vocabulary lists containing lacy
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:
Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in a thin, even layer, letting some of the Parmesan fall into the gaps so it can melt into lacy edges.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
Ms. Carson, who is wearing a black lacy gown, mutters, “Oh God, whatever,” as she waves her arms in exasperation.
From New York Times ● Mar. 13, 2024
Dozens of tents line the sidewalk outside the Sheraton Gateway and Four Points Sheraton LAX; over the tents dangle string lights and clotheslines festooned with laundry, including lacy lingerie and baby onesies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2023
The taquero waits until the pork drips with fat and the edges are singed and lacy before he carves shards off the trompo cylinder, a medley of juicy bits and burnt ends.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
June was wearing a flowing, lacy dress the color of winter sunshine.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Lacy Hunt’s about-face on long-term Treasurys marks the end of an era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Jeffrey Gundlach, who runs DoubleLine Capital and does not hand out compliments like Halloween candy, put it plainly in a post on social-media platform X: “Even Lacy Hunt has turned bearish, to his credit.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Ricky Hatton's fight against Kostya Tszyu in Manchester in 2005 began at about 02:00 BST while Joe Calzaghe's victories over Jeff Lacy and Mikkel Kessler also started after midnight.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Dressed in svelte black athleisure with a close-cropped haircut, the 28-year-old Lacy was less flamboyant than he’d looked in recent years, when he sported long braids and sunglasses that covered half his head.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
“He went out soon after breakfast, Madam, before Major and Mrs. Lacy were down. He has not been in since.”
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Mushrooms with thinner, lacier caps are best here, turning crunchy and brittle as they roast.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 23, 2022
Elsewhere on the table might be hoppers, crepes of fermented rice flour curved like bowls, thick and spongy at the bottom with sides that get thinner and lacier as they reach up.
From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2018
For the laciest edges without compromising flavor, olive oil's your best bet.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2022
Unlike many a coloratura she was faithful to pitch throughout the laciest passages, took her top notes truly.
From Time Magazine Archive
Not once had she flinched before the laciest coloratura passages, before measures that took her well into contralto regions, out again and up to the peak of the soprano scale.
From Time Magazine Archive
It not only looked, it was—the very fluffiest, laciest one Jane had ever seen, with marvellous cupids and hearts, and forget-me-nots and true lover’s knots of blue ribbon.
From Chicken Little Jane by Lily Munsell Ritchie
And she had a new dancing frock, quite the loveliest and fluffiest and laciest she had ever worn.
From Slippy McGee, Sometimes Known as the Butterfly Man by Marie Conway Oemler
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.
