kilt

1 of 2

noun

ˈkilt 

1

: a knee-length pleated skirt usually of tartan worn by men in Scotland and by Scottish regiments in the British armies

2

: a garment that resembles a Scottish kilt

kilt

2 of 2

verb

kilted; kilting; kilts

transitive verb

1

chiefly dialectal : to tuck up (something, such as a skirt)

2

: to equip with a kilt

intransitive verb

: to move nimbly

Examples of kilt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Private security guards tackled a man who appeared to be wearing a kilt and yelling. —Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2025

Two years later, Scotland’s Sandy Lyle was hosting the dinner in his kilt and serving up haggis, a delicacy of sheep’s heart, liver and lungs, minced and spiced and cooked in the animal’s stomach lining. —Don Riddell, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025

Anyone who doesn’t make the cut can have Alan Cumming’s fashion kilts to run to. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025

The men are in leather pants, the women in fishnets; a couple of kilts and a giant fur coat are thrown in for good measure. —Houman Barekat, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse kjalta lap, fold of a gathered skirt

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1730, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for kilt

• built
• gilt
• guilt
• hilt
• lilt
• milt
• quilt
• silt
• spilt
• stilt
• tilt
• wilt

Kids Definition

kilt

noun

ˈkilt

: a knee-length pleated skirt usually of tartan worn by men in Scotland

kilted

ˈkil-təd

adjective