pleat
Americannoun
-
pleats
plural
verb (used with object)
-
pleats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
pleated,
past participle, past
-
pleating
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
pleatsimple
-
pleatssimple
-
have pleatedperfect
-
has pleatedperfect
-
am pleatingprogressive
-
are pleatingprogressive
-
is pleatingprogressive
-
have been pleatingperfect progressive
-
has been pleatingperfect progressive
Past
-
pleatedsimple
-
had pleatedperfect
-
was pleatingprogressive
-
were pleatingprogressive
-
had been pleatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pleat
1325–75; Middle English; variant of plait
Explanation
A pleat is a creased fold in fabric. Your long wool coat might have a single pleat in back, down toward the hem. Some pleats are creased sharply, or even stitched firmly in place, while others are looser. The pleats in a little girl's frilly dress or in a skirt that has pleats all the way around might be called "accordion pleats," while a kilt usually has one "box pleat" in the back, with simple "knife pleats" on either side. Pleat is also a verb, meaning "to make or sew a pleat."
Vocabulary lists containing pleat
The House on Mango Street
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Save Me a Seat
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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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:
When you open them there needs to be a pleat, so when you close them there is enough skin to cover the eyeball.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
In addition to changing the lighting and painting the walls, Miranda-Martin prioritized the window treatments, with pinch pleat curtains from Ikea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Everybody is likely to agree that the eye-searing abundance of ill-fitting pants is pushing verisimilitude a pleat too far.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2023
The R groups are attached to the carbons and extend above and below the folds of the pleat.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
I make a pleat in the front of the skirt and roll the waistband over to hold it.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Even when tasked to outfit the girls in monotone uniforms, the costume designer Shirley Kurata adds individuality with textures of sheers, cutouts and pleats.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
Every meticulous detail — from Anne’s tailored pleats to how each woman eats an apple — is beguiling.
From Salon ● May 2, 2025
Elphaba’s is made of crooked tiers of micro pleats that gather under the brim to resemble mushroom gills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2025
This unexpected turn surprised many, as models navigated the runway encased in pleats from head to toe.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
She already got the blue dress on I ironed this morning, the one with sixty-five pleats on the waist, so tiny I got to squint through my glasses to iron.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
I was fascinated by the design and by the way the fabric was pleated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
On the first day of Haute Couture Week, which featured a star-packed show from Schiaparelli and a galaxy-inspired Iris Van Herpen collection, Anderson sent out a highly wearable selection of heavily textured and pleated outfits.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Osaka arrived on Court Suzanne Lenglen with a black corset and cascading pleated skirt that swept dramatically over the red clay.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
Gehry’s first skyscraper, 8 Spruce, reimagined the Manhattan high-rise as a kind of gleaming, pleated fabric, its shifted stainless steel panels rippling downward, catching daylight in a constantly shifting display.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
Midland was the fair-haired, goody-goody one, always doing the right thing, never a spot on that pleated dress, always staying up late to do her homework and prepare for the future.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Her designs are made using traditional techniques such as pleating and draping and she sources tartan from local fabric mills honouring the "craftsmanship of traditional kiltmaking".
From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026
The museum is clad in gray precast concrete panels, slightly angled from the wall in a way that suggests pleating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
Actress and musician Teyana Taylor scored one of the Gala’s best looks early in the night, with a dandified look that took pleating and accessories to the next level.
From Salon ● May 6, 2025
Sullivan may remove and refinish lace, add pleating, redesign a dress as a jumpsuit or completely remake the top of a gown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2021
Together they spread the fabric across the table, turning it, unfolding its pleating and cuffs, examining the intricate stitches and the scenes they created.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
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.
