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• tweed
  tweed

  noun

  a coarse wool cloth in a variety of weaves and colors, either hand-spun and handwoven in Scotland or reproduced, often by machine, elsewhere.
• Tweed
  Tweed

  noun

  William Marcy Boss Tweed, 1823–78, U.S. politician.

tweed

¹ American  

[tweed] / twid /

noun

• tweeds
  plural

1. a coarse wool cloth in a variety of weaves and colors, either hand-spun and handwoven in Scotland or reproduced, often by machine, elsewhere.

2. tweeds, garments made of this cloth.

3. a paper having a rough surface, used especially for certain photographic prints.

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Tweed ² American  

[tweed] / twid /

noun

1. William Marcy Boss Tweed, 1823–78, U.S. politician.

2. a river flowing E from S Scotland along part of the NE boundary of England into the North Sea. 97 miles (156 km) long.

3. a male given name.

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tweed ¹ British  

/ twiːd /

noun

1. 1. a thick woollen often knobbly cloth produced originally in Scotland

   2. ( as modifier )

      a tweed coat

2. (plural) clothes made of this cloth, esp a man's or woman's suit

3. informal (plural) trousers

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Tweed ² British  

/ twiːd /

noun

1. a river in SE Scotland and NE England, flowing east and forming part of the border between Scotland and England, then crossing into England to enter the North Sea at Berwick. Length: 156 km (97 miles)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tweeds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tweed

1835–45; apparently back formation from Scots tweedling twilling (now obsolete) < ?

Explanation

Tweed is a kind of speckled fabric made from woven wool. Used for jackets, suits, and coats, tweed is a rough, sturdy material. Tweed was originally tweel, the Scots word for twill, a diagonally-patterned textile weave. In the 1830's the word was misread by a fabric merchant who assumed it came from the Scottish River Tweed, and the name stuck. Woven on looms, rough wool is transformed into tweed's tidy patterns, like herringbone and houndstooth. Most tweed is still made in Scotland for garments including suit jackets, skirts, and trousers, as well as blankets and scarves.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tweed Tweed tweeds

They are waulking the wool, an age-old tradition for rendering tweed soft and airtight so that it might keep the shepherds of the Scottish Hebrides warm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Boxy tweed boucle jackets with fringed trims and structured brightly coloured handbags were the order of day, with various materials including lace also on display.

From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026

Costelloe often used traditional Irish fabrics and textiles in his designs, including Irish linen and tweed.

From BBC ● Nov. 22, 2025

Another is Harris tweed, the manufacturer of a fabric handwoven in the Outer Hebrides, which has risen from near death and now employs hundreds, selling its products all over the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025

I wore a camel-hair turtleneck, tweed blazer, and jeans.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Anna Dorward from Dalatho, who is a conservation management student, signed up as she lives near the Tweed.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

He purchased it for $10.5 million in 2021 to use as a California home base after he and his wife, Shannon Tweed Simmons, moved to Las Vegas.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 27, 2026

The Belfast-based solicitor Paul Tweed has confirmed to Talkback that he acted for Epstein in 2011.

From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026

Activist groups staged protests for months near places where it provides service, including Tweed New Haven Airport in Connecticut.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

He is now an associate in mergers and acquisitions at Milbank Tweed in New York, where, interestingly, Hugh Corcoran was just made partner.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

On the Scottish island of Harris, the setting for this novel, expensive tweeds are a costly commodity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

With stars from Nicole Kidman to Dua Lipa looking on, the first outfits made abundant use of sheer silk muslin alongside Chanel tweeds before the arrival of more whimsical, avian-inspired styles.

From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026

Perhaps wisely, Blazy didn't stray too far from Chanel's classic look with his first collection, which was marked by stylish tweaks to the fashion giant's blouses, suits and tweeds.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025

There were tailored women’s coats in wool, checks and earth-toned tweeds, and chunky cable knits and mini-dress polos in cashmere.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024

At die moment, their choir coach, an enormous woman in tweeds, was advising them to open their mouths wider when they sang.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

Related Words

• cashmere
• fleece
• fur
• hair
• mohair
• yarn