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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

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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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

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

In a bedroom near pictures of her champions, Calvacca has laid out two St. John tweed skirtsuits, one pink and one purple, both with metallic-thread accents.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

"I wanted to see whether, when you strip away the usual Chanel signatures - the tweed, the jewelled buttons - you can still get to that essence," he told WWD.

From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026

It's the show that has become synonymous with flat caps, waistcoats and tweed suits, but 12 years on since Peaky Blinders first aired its influence continues to run through the West Midlands.

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2025

“You there, in the tweed cap! May I borrow your velocipede?”

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• cashmere
• fleece
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