tweed
1 Americannoun
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a coarse wool cloth in a variety of weaves and colors, either hand-spun and handwoven in Scotland or reproduced, often by machine, elsewhere.
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tweeds, garments made of this cloth.
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a paper having a rough surface, used especially for certain photographic prints.
noun
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William Marcy Boss Tweed, 1823–78, U.S. politician.
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a river flowing E from S Scotland along part of the NE boundary of England into the North Sea. 97 miles (156 km) long.
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a male given name.
noun
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a thick woollen often knobbly cloth produced originally in Scotland
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( as modifier )
a tweed coat
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(plural) clothes made of this cloth, esp a man's or woman's suit
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informal (plural) trousers
noun
Etymology
Origin of tweed
1835–45; apparently back formation from Scots tweedling twilling (now obsolete) < ?
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.
"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
“He was wearing a tweed jacket and looked like a professor,” said Raskin, now at investigations firm Nardello & Co.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
John scored quarter-zip sweaters for himself and his father-in-law, and his wife splurged on a tweed jacket for Christmas Day.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 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
Over his uniform he pulls on some of Etienne’s tweed trousers, along with a shirt whose sleeves are too long.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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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.