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weave

[weev]
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verb (used with object), wove or especially for 5, weaved; wo·ven or wove; weav·ing.
  1. to interlace (threads, yarns, strips, fibrous material, etc.) so as to form a fabric or material.
  2. to form by interlacing threads, yarns, strands, or strips of some material: to weave a basket; to weave cloth.
  3. to form by combining various elements or details into a connected whole: to weave a tale; to weave a plan.
  4. to introduce as an element or detail into a connected whole (usually followed by in or into): She wove an old folk melody into her latest musical composition.
  5. to direct or move along in a winding or zigzag course; move from side to side, especially to avoid obstructions: to weave one's way through traffic.
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verb (used without object), wove or especially for 9, weaved; wo·ven or wove; weav·ing.
  1. to form or construct something, as fabric, by interlacing threads, yarns, strips, etc.
  2. to compose a connected whole by combining various elements or details.
  3. to be or become formed or composed from the interlacing of materials or the combining of various elements: The yarn wove into a beautiful fabric.
  4. to move or proceed in a winding course or from side to side: dancers weaving in time to the music.
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noun
  1. a pattern of or method for interlacing yarns.
  2. hairweave(defs 1, 2).
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Origin of weave

before 900; Middle English weven, Old English wefan; cognate with German weben, Old Norse vefa; see web
Related formsout·weave, verb (used with object), out·wove, out·wo·ven, or out·wove, out·weav·ing.re·weave, verb, re·wove, re·wo·ven or re·wove, re·weav·ing.

Synonyms

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3. contrive, fabricate, construct, compose. 4. insert, intermix, intermingle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

sewincorporateentwineconstructcomposezigzagknitcreatefusefabricatetwistfoldintertwinecareensnakespliceintroducebraidspinloop

Examples from the Web for weave

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • She meant to weave some nice brushes, for the evening sweeping.

    Rico and Wiseli

    Johanna Spyri

  • And since it is your glory to weave, you and yours must weave forever.

    Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew

    Josephine Preston Peabody

  • Let your business still be poetry, but weave it out of life instead of words.

    Cleo The Magnificent

    Louis Zangwill

  • We cut with a knife, we pierce with an awl, we weave with a shuttle, we name with a name.

  • So then you would counsel me to weave myself some sort of net?

British Dictionary definitions for weave

weave

verb weaves, weaving, wove, weaved, woven or weaved
  1. to form (a fabric) by interlacing (yarn, etc), esp on a loom
  2. (tr) to make or construct by such a processto weave a shawl
  3. (tr) to make or construct (an artefact, such as a basket) by interlacing (a pliable material, such as cane)
  4. (of a spider) to make (a web)
  5. (tr) to construct by combining separate elements into a whole
  6. (tr; often foll by in, into, through, etc) to introduceto weave factual details into a fiction
  7. to create (a way, etc) by moving from side to sideto weave through a crowd
  8. (intr) () vet science (of a stabled horse) to swing the head, neck, and body backwards and forwards
  9. get weaving informal to hurry; start to do something
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noun
  1. the method or pattern of weaving or the structure of a woven fabric
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Derived Formsweaving, noun

Word Origin

Old English wefan; related to Old High German weban, Old Norse vefa, Greek hyphos, Sanskrit vābhis; compare web, weevil, wasp
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for weave

v.

Old English wefan "form by interlacing yarn" (class V strong verb; past tense wæf, past participle wefen), from Proto-Germanic *weban (cf. Old Norse vefa, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch weven, Old High German weban, German weben "to weave"), from PIE *webh- "to weave;" also "to move quickly" (cf. Sanskrit ubhnati "he laces together," Persian baftan "to weave," Greek hyphe, hyphos "web," Old English webb "web").

Extended sense of "combine into a whole" is from late 14c.; meaning "go by twisting and turning" is first found 1590s. Sense in boxing is from 1818. Related: Wove; weaved; weaving.

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n.

"method or pattern of weaving," 1888, from weave (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper