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 of pleat

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

Copyleaf Stretchy Wide-Leg Pants A ruched waistband and imitation front-button closure give these stretchy, wide-leg trousers with reverse-front pleats a polished, work-ready vibe. —Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026

Place dough circles in the wells of a 12-cup muffin tray, pressing into bottoms and up sides, pleating edges as needed. —Katherine Polcari, Southern Living, 27 Nov. 2025

Noun

Don’t be fooled by their budget-friendly cost, either, because the pants deliver an expensive air thanks to their high-fashion pleats and exaggerated silhouette. —Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 10 Jan. 2026

Joycatch Stretchy Wide-Leg Pants Go for a look like Garner’s in these charcoal gray, wide-leg pants with a pull-on waistband and single-reverse pleats. —Jamie Allison Sanders, PEOPLE, 9 Jan. 2026

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