lace

[ leys ]
See synonyms for lace on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a netlike ornamental fabric made of threads by hand or machine.

  2. a cord or string for holding or drawing together, as when passed through holes in opposite edges.

  1. ornamental cord or braid, especially of gold or silver, used to decorate uniforms, hats, etc.

  2. a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance added to food or drink.

verb (used with object),laced, lac·ing.
  1. to fasten, draw together, or compress by or as if by means of a lace.

  2. to pass (a cord, leather strip, etc.), as through holes.

  1. to interlace or intertwine.

  2. to adorn or trim with lace.

  3. to add a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance to (food or drink): He took his coffee laced with brandy.

  4. to lash, beat, or thrash.

  5. to compress the waist of (a person) by drawing tight the laces of a corset, or the like.

  6. to mark or streak, as with color.

verb (used without object),laced, lac·ing.
  1. to be fastened with a lace: These shoes lace up the side.

  2. to attack physically or verbally (often followed by into): The teacher laced into his students.

Origin of lace

1
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English las<Old French laz, las ≪ Latin laqueus noose; (v.) Middle English lasen<Middle French lacier, lasser, lachier (French lacer) ≪ Latin laqueāre to enclose in a noose, trap

Other words from lace

  • lacelike, adjective
  • lacer, noun
  • re·lace, verb, re·laced, re·lac·ing.
  • well-laced, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lace in a sentence

  • Glasgow people wear carmen's boots, strongly fastened on with leather laces.

    Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell
  • Pointed means fitted or furnished with tagged points or laces; wearing points; laced.

    The Fatal Dowry | Philip Massinger
  • In the streets hawkers called their wares, ribbons, laces, patches.

    A German Pompadour | Marie Hay
  • Here the lady sits, dressed in velvet lined with rich furs, and adorned with laces and jewels, having on her head a velvet cap.

British Dictionary definitions for lace

lace

/ (leɪs) /


noun
  1. a delicate decorative fabric made from cotton, silk, etc, woven in an open web of different symmetrical patterns and figures

  2. a cord or string drawn through holes or eyelets or around hooks to fasten a shoe or garment

  1. ornamental braid often used on military uniforms, etc

  2. a dash of spirits added to a beverage

verb
  1. to fasten (shoes, etc) with a lace

  2. (tr) to draw (a cord or thread) through holes, eyes, etc, as when tying shoes

  1. (tr) to compress the waist of (someone), as with a corset

  2. (tr) to add a small amount of alcohol or drugs to (food or drink)

  3. (tr; usually passive and foll by with) to streak or mark with lines or colours: the sky was laced with red

  4. (tr) to intertwine; interlace

  5. (tr) informal to give a sound beating to

Origin of lace

1
C13 las, from Old French laz, from Latin laqueus noose

Derived forms of lace

  • lacelike, adjective
  • lacer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012