lace
Americannoun
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laces
plural
-
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)
-
laces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
laced,
past participle, past
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lacing
present participle
-
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)
-
laces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
laced,
past participle, past
-
lacing
present participle
-
to be fastened with a lace.
These shoes lace up the side.
-
to attack physically or verbally (often followed byinto ).
The teacher laced into his students.
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)
-
to streak or mark with lines or colours
the sky was laced with red
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(tr) to intertwine; interlace
-
informal (tr) to give a sound beating to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lacesimple
-
lacessimple
-
have lacedperfect
-
has lacedperfect
-
am lacingprogressive
-
are lacingprogressive
-
is lacingprogressive
-
have been lacingperfect progressive
-
has been lacingperfect progressive
Past
-
lacedsimple
-
had lacedperfect
-
was lacingprogressive
-
were lacingprogressive
-
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:
Women in lace mantillas and gold jewelry pass on their way to somewhere ornate.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
In photos shared by the couple, Booysen can be seen wearing a floor length lace wedding dress with a floral pattern, while Donaldson opted for a white tuxedo.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 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
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
Pinned over her hair was a lace handkerchief.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
The director laces a 16th-century period drama with a series of mysteries in his latest film, which centers on a samurai who rebels against the local warlord.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 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
On paper, the dialogue may seem stiff and silly, but Lewis laces these words with enough sorrow to fill the room.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
"It feels like you're wearing big winter gloves every day, all the time so you can't actually feel what you're doing like zips and buttons and laces on your shoes."
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2026
When her mother, beaming, nodded, Stella slid the black pair with the dark laces on her feet.
From "Stella by Starlight" by Sharon M. Draper
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
The NBA’s very best teams tend to be led by generational superstars who have been anointed as basketball demigods since they first laced up their sneakers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
It’s bathed in sunlight that only occasionally shines on an ephemeral memory, revealing that the recollection is laced with as much honest love as regret.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
Underneath the cloying fragrance of the decaying flowers, the air was laced with the odors of gunpowder, damp hay, and the dusty musk of horseflesh.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
On Saturday, Belfast's Agyarko gets the opportunity he has craved since first lacing up the gloves when he faces IBF light-middleweight champion Josh Kelly in Saudi Arabia.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ilkay Gundogan executed his effort with perfection, lacing a ferocious, dipping strike into David de Gea's top corner, the Manchester United stopper only able to watch it fly in.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
“Not a star, just another has-been, lacing up his sneakers in an empty gym on a Wednesday night.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
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
Francis was sitting on the side of my bed, lacing his shoes.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
