plait
/pleɪt/noun, verb
plait is spelled P-L-A-I-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, plait means “A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of plait is plaits.
How many letters and syllables are in plait?
| Letters | 5: P-L-A-I-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is plait?
Plait appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce plait?
- /pleɪt/
- /plæt/
Plait has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-plait.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of plait
- plaits plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- plaiting participle, present
- plaited participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does plait mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A flat fold; a doubling, as of cloth; a pleat.
a box plait
- 2
A braid, as of hair or straw; a plat.
verb
- 1
To fold; to double in narrow folds; to pleat
to plait a ruffle
- 2
To interweave the strands or locks of; to braid
to plait hair
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Plait in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense flat fold:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does plait come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).