pleat
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
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.
My grandmother could pleat pork dumplings with grace and speed.
From New York Times • May 18, 2022
And if I’m ever desperate for a sharp pleat, well, there’s always the dry cleaner for that.
From Slate • Mar. 11, 2021
“We can’t produce them at the incredible rate she can pleat them, but they are delicious!”
From Washington Times • Jul. 27, 2020
A single pleat on the back of this shirt gives an upscale look to the athletic top.
From Golf Digest • Mar. 9, 2020
His thin hands pleat his trousers as he talks.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
