plait

/pleɪt/

//pleɪt// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"plait" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“plait” is uncommon English (frequency #58,281 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#58,281
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat.

Corpus desk

Index EN-plait · plait · English

plait · rank #58,281 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #58,281
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pitta

Nearest frequency peer: pitta (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “plait”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “plait” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for plait
PropertyValue
Headwordplait
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pleɪt/
Letters5
Frequency rank#58,281
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “plait” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).plaitfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “pitta” (#58,280), “Plantagenet” (#58,282), “pilsner” (#58,279). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “plait” is #58,281. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

plait is uncommon English at frequency #58,281 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pleɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for plait in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English pleit, from Anglo-Norman pleit (compare Old French ploit), from Latin plectō, which is akin to Old Norse flétta (Danish flette), Russian плести́ (plestí) and also to Old English fleohtan, which it displaced. Doublet of plight (“plait, fo… The correct English form is plait, spelled P-L-A-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat.
  2. 2
    A braid, as of hair or straw; a plat.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how plait appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. the plaits and foldings of the drapery
  2. Only the hair as it arched so beautifully from her temples was mixed with silver, and the two simple plaits that lay on her shoulders were filigree of silver and brown.

Etymology

From Middle English pleit, from Anglo-Norman pleit (compare Old French ploit), from Latin plectō, which is akin to Old Norse flétta (Danish flette), Russian плести́ (plestí) and also to Old English fleohtan, which it displaced. Doublet of plight (“plait, fold”) and pleat.

This word in other languages

pliegue(Español)pli(Français)Falte(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "plait"?
"plait" is spelled P-L-A-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pleɪt/.
What does "plait" mean?
As a noun, "plait" means: A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat.
How do you pronounce "plait"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "plait" is /pleɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "plait"?
From Middle English pleit, from Anglo-Norman pleit (compare Old French ploit), from Latin plectō, which is akin to Old Norse flétta (Danish flette), Russian плести́ (plestí) and also to Old English fleohtan, which it displaced. Doublet of plight (... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "plait", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pitta#58,280pogue#58,284ovoid#58,261Oster#58,256

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list