pleat

1 of 2

verb

ˈplēt 

pleated; pleating; pleats

transitive verb

1

: fold

especially : to arrange in pleats

pleat a skirt

2

: plait sense 2

pleater noun

pleat

2 of 2

noun

: a fold in cloth made by doubling material over on itself

also : something resembling such a fold

pleatless

ˈplēt-ləs 

adjective

Synonyms

Verb

• braid

Examples of pleat in a Sentence

Verb

pleat ribbons

Noun

Her skirt has pleats at the waist.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Tailleur section features a short redingote dress by Alaïa from the fall 2005 collection in navy blue wool cloth with a small flat collar, pleats on the hips, and decorative stitching. —Andrea Onate, Footwear News, 24 Oct. 2025

For the nuptials, Bella wore an plunging green gown with pleating on the bodice and a thigh-high slit up the floor-sweeping ruffled skirt. —Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025

Noun

The back has a sophisticated pleat, and the double-layered material ensures non-transparency with wear. —Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 2 Nov. 2025

The thick elastic waistband fits snugly without squeezing, and the wide legs are flowy and casual, giving even more movement with subtle pleats at the front. —Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 2 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English pleiten, derivative of playte, pleit pleat entry 2

Noun

Middle English playte, pleit, plite, pliȝt "fold, fold in cloth made by doubling over material, wrinkle, braid, strand in a braided cord, unit of measure for cloth," borrowed from Anglo-French pleit, plet, plite, playe "fold, bend, unit of cloth, knot, twist," going back to Vulgar Latin *plictum "something folded," noun derivative from neuter of Latin plictus, variant of plicātus, past participle of plicāre "to fold, bend" — more at ply entry 3

Note: The form plictus is apparently attested as a variant of plicātus in manuscripts of Seneca's letters (see Oxford Latin Dictionary and note at explicit). — The Middle English word shows many spellings and has given rise to markedly diverse outcomes in Modern English. The modern form pleat /plit/ would appear to be a regular development of the French diphthongal spelling pleit (compare Anglo-French pais, peis "peace," fait "feat," etc.). The spelling plait entry 1, if pronounced /pleɪt/, either retains the diphthong (until merger with /ɛ:/ from Middle English long a) or represents some other alteration. If pronounced /plæt/, the word is in effect a spelling variant of plat entry 2, a noun derivative of plat entry 1. In addition, there is plet, going back to later Middle English plet, plette, which the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, characterizes as now "chiefly Scottish and Irish English"; it may result from shortening of the form with /ɛ:/ that gave rise to pleat.

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pleat

• box pleat
• crystal pleat
• kick pleat

Rhymes for pleat

• beat
• beet
• bleat
• cheat
• cleat
• creat
• deet
• eat
• feat
• feet
• fleet
• greet

Kids Definition

pleat

1 of 2 verb

ˈplēt 

1

: to fold or arrange in pleats

pleat a skirt

2

: braid entry 1 sense 1

pleater noun

pleat

2 of 2 noun

: a fold (as in cloth) made by doubling material over on itself