plaid

noun

ˈplad 

1

: a rectangular length of tartan worn over the left shoulder as part of the Scottish national costume

2

a

: a twilled woolen fabric with a tartan pattern

b

: a fabric with a pattern of tartan or an imitation of tartan

3

a

: tartan sense 1

b

: a pattern of unevenly spaced repeated stripes crossing at right angles

plaid adjective

plaided

ˈpla-dəd 

adjective

Examples of plaid in a Sentence

She likes to wear plaids.

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s no such thing as too much plaid, at least not according to creator Tamu McPherson, pictured above. — Kelsey Stewart, Glamour, 6 Aug. 2026

In this case, however, the stock cloth (or vinyl) bench seat gets a nice little touch of pizzaz courtesy of Katzkin seat covers with a retro plaid look. — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 6 Aug. 2026

Plaid Flannel Shirts at Amazon A plaid flannel is the ideal piece to wear in this transitional period. — Nicol Natale, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026

This red plaid cotton quilt set is designed with the holidays in mind, but there’s nothing wrong with using it year round. — Stephanie Osmanski, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Scottish Gaelic plaide

First Known Use

1512, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing plaid

• buffalo plaid
• glen plaid

Rhymes for plaid

• ad
• add
• bad
• brad
• cad
• clad
• dad
• fad
• gad
• glad
• grad
• had

Kids Definition

plaid

noun

ˈplad 

1

: a rectangular length of tartan worn over the shoulder as part of the Scottish national costume

2

: a fabric with a tartan pattern

3

a

: tartan sense 1

b

: a pattern of unevenly spaced repeated stripes crossing at right angles

plaid adjective