tie-dye
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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tie-dyes
plural
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tie-dyeing.
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Informal. a fabric or garment dyed by tie-dyeing.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tie-dye
First recorded in 1935–40
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:
In the Carolinas, Asheville, N.C., with its tie-dye stores and breweries, tends to hog the attention of travelers looking to explore the region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
At the Australian Open in January, she entered the court in a tie-dye turquoise and green palette with flowing tendrils.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Osaka walked on to court wearing an ocean blue tie-dye tracksuit jacket with white wide-leg bottoms - both adorned with ruffles.
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2026
But it was the full-length album version — taking up the entire second side of the LP in all of its messy glory — that became a signature song of the tie-dye era.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2024
She’s tied her hair back with a purple tie-dye scarf that matches the flowy purple pants she’s wearing.
From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon
In another, Eric Whiteback, known as “the Supreme Guy”, tie-dyes a rare camo-print tee, creating a one-of-a-kind design for himself.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 2, 2020
Sebastian adds that he’s been living in California, in a tent, where he met a lady who tie-dyes – “a cloth house is all you need if you’ve got love.”
From The Guardian ● Aug. 15, 2019
The internet is full of photos and tributes to Hill fashion: a flowing brown overcoat, tie-dyes, soccer shirts, a brief interlude with pink hair.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2018
Sometimes Arun sees guys in suit and ties buying tie-dyes.
From Seattle Times ● May 26, 2018
I wore my tie-dyes proudly, secure in the knowledge that I had more right than anybody.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
The listener leaves with a lively mental picture of the author in his tie-dyed hippie glory, a “disheveled U-boat captain from another galaxy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Diane, wearing a red and black cap and a tie-dyed sweater, speaks: “This site was reported May 1, 2024, for unidentified persons.”
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2024
The other flag used those same colors as the stripes on a version of the U.S. flag, with white tie-dyed stars.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2024
“I’m not big on flak jackets and tie-dyed shirts,” he said years later.
From Seattle Times ● May 1, 2024
On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle—a shriveled female mummy in a tie-dyed dress.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
They are turning it into breakfast cereal, tie-dyeing it and, in one case, wrapping it around baguettes.
From New York Times ● Mar. 29, 2023
We spent a day in their lab to see how it all worked and even did some tie-dyeing on our own.
From The Verge ● Aug. 23, 2022
But it serves another purpose: When you’re all done tie-dyeing those tea towels, and they no longer spark joy, you’ve got new material to toss.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2022
Later, she began tie-dyeing some of the venue’s black T’s in bleach, which she’d stocked up on because of the pandemic.
From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2020
Come to think of it, hers had been the first face at the door after the PA announcement on tie-dyeing day.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
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.
