Meaning & use
plait
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Meanings
nouncountableBritish
A length of hair or other material made by crossing three or more strands over one another in turn.
Grammar: A plait is the finished length: she wore her hair in a plait. In American English the usual word is braid.
Patterns
- a plait of something
- in a plait
- in plaits
She wore her hair in a long plait down her back.
The baker topped the loaf with a neat plait of dough.
The twin girls had matching plaits tied with red ribbons.
verbtransitiveBritish
To make strands of hair, rope, straw or similar material into a woven length by crossing them over each other.
Grammar: Takes an object: plait her hair, plait the rope.
Patterns
- plait something
- plait something into something
Mum plaited my hair before school every morning.
He plaited the straw into a mat.
She sat on the step, plaiting thin strips of leather into a belt.
Word forms
| plural | plaits |
|---|---|
| third person singular | plaits |
| past tense | plaited |
| past participle | plaited |
| -ing form | plaiting |
Common combinations
- long plait
- The dancer's long plait swung as she turned.
- French plait
- She learned how to make a French plait from a video.
- plait your hair
- Could you plait my hair before the race?
- in plaits
- The little girl wore her hair in plaits.
- plait together
- Plait the three ropes together and tie the end.
- fishtail plait
- A fishtail plait looks complicated but takes only minutes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- braid
- Braid is the standard American word and also common in British English, though plait is the older British choice for hair.
- weave
- Weave is broader and often involves a loom or two sets of threads crossing, whereas plaiting uses a single group of strands.
- twist
- Twist turns strands around one another without the over-and-under crossing that makes a plait.
- pigtail
- A pigtail is a hanging section of hair, usually one of a pair, which may or may not be plaited.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: plait or plate?
plait vs plate
Plate is a flat dish and sounds similar in some accents. A plait is a woven strand of hair or rope.
Practice
Which sentence is natural British English?
Choose one answer.
Plait is a regular transitive verb, so it takes a direct object with no preposition: plaited her hair. Adding up of, for or at breaks the pattern.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “plait”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.