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

Both of the photos give off an elementary school picture day vibe, with Travis against a blue backdrop dressed in a red plaid shirt and sweetly smiling for the camera. —Skyler Caruso, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025

Blue and red plaid form fitting suit, with open toed red stilettos. —Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Target’s fall launches include fun textures like suede and chiffon, as well as rich earth tones of deep burgundy and bold plaid patterns. —Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 24 Aug. 2025

On Starz’s latest offering, every wall is realistically grimed, and every plaid is laid just so. —Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 22 Aug. 2025

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