plait

American  

[playt, plat] / pleɪt, plæt /

noun

• plaits
  plural

1. a braid, especially of hair or straw.

2. a pleat or fold, as of cloth.

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verb (used with object)

• plaits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• plaited,
  past participle,  past
• plaiting
  present participle

1. to braid, as hair or straw.

2. to make, as a mat, by braiding.

3. to pleat.

plait British  

/ plæt /

noun

1. a length of hair, ribbon, etc, that has been plaited

2. (in Britain) a loaf of bread of several twisting or intertwining parts

3. a rare spelling of pleat

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verb

1. (tr) to intertwine (strands or strips) in a pattern

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interplait
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• plaits
  plural

Participles

• plaiting
  present
• plaited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• plait
  simple
• plaits
  simple
• have plaited
  perfect
• has plaited
  perfect
• am plaiting
  progressive
• are plaiting
  progressive
• is plaiting
  progressive
• have been plaiting
  perfect progressive
• has been plaiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• plaited
  simple
• had plaited
  perfect
• was plaiting
  progressive
• were plaiting
  progressive
• had been plaiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will plait
  simple
• will have plaited
  perfect
• will be plaiting
  progressive
• will have been plaiting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of plait

1350–1400; Middle English pleyt < Middle French pleit < Latin plicitum, neuter of plicitus, past participle of plicāre to fold; see ply ²

Explanation

You might get an odd look if you ask your hairdresser to put your hair in a plait, but she’ll eventually figure out what you want: a braid. Plait, which sounds the same as plate, feels a bit like it’s from a bygone era, though the word is still in use today. A woman wearing a hairstyle with plaits might be on her way to meet Lord Something-or-Other, in the hopes of receiving a marriage proposal. Meanwhile, someone wearing a braided hairdo might be preparing for a night on the town or just a trip to the grocery store.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plait plaits plaited plaiting

For the unaware, that classic acronym comes from the French phrase Répondez s'il vous plait.

From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2023

The male representative of this species proudly sports a pork pie straw hat, half Panama and half boater, so obviously transatlantic that every plait in it gives forth a twang.

From Washington Post ● May 2, 2023

Assembling a loaf of challah, the briochelike Jewish bread coated with a soft brown egg wash and braided in a classic plait, is another undertaking entirely.

From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2021

Boys play marbles with rounded pebbles or guava stones; girls plait skipping ropes from the long grass at the edge of the village.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 10, 2019

“You are making all that up,” Luna said, tying her hair back in a long, black plait and hiding behind a curtain to change into her nightgown.

From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill

“When I was going to school, I wanted to be Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, and I would wear a wig with two plaits and call myself Professor Longhair,” Henry told the AP.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2024

A photo taken that day shows a little girl with long blonde plaits smiling up at her parents.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2023

Her mother then plaits her thick hair into two Dutch braids that fit under her helmet for the show ring.

From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2023

We don't bother with complicated eight-strand plaits or intricate rounds, and instead opt for a classic three-strand braid.

From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2022

Wasn’t silly, wasn’t always twiddling her plaits, didn’t tattle or gossip, didn’t hit boys over the head with books or scrape the back of your neck with a sweetgum burr when you weren’t looking.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Elsewhere in Haute Couture Week, Puerto Rican music star Bad Bunny sat front row for the Schiaparelli show in a pastel yellow-coloured suit and a tie of plaited golden strands.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

The young millennial rocked different hairstyles and loved switching it up: a curly Afro one week, two-strand twists the next, micro plaited braids and a range of cornrow designs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024

"My mam plaits it in two plaits so it goes directly between my spine... She has always plaited my hair since so it's kind of a tradition now."

From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2024

This week, the bakers are instructed to make a plaited bread centerpiece.

From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2023

Her sandy hair was pulled back into twin plaited pigtails, each tied with a bright-red ribbon.

From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli

It takes a willingness to understand and honor the hairstyle's origins and what that plaiting symbolizes to accept that not everybody should flaunt it.

From Salon ● May 2, 2025

“It is less risky if we go as a group,” she said while plaiting her friend’s hair.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 9, 2022

What I suddenly think of is my dad plaiting my hair when I was nine years old, in the first few weeks after my mum left.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 28, 2019

John Frieda Frizz Ease Clearly Defined Gel was Aspiras' go-to while plaiting the two side braids, which he secured with clear elastics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2018

After she dried and wrapped her baby in a towel she hummed quietly while combing out the tangles and plaiting the damp hair.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver