pleat

Name: pleat, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/pliːt/

//pliːt// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“pleat” is uncommon English (frequency #76,219 among 46,516 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,219
frequency rank, English: 46,516
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A fold in the fabric of a garment, usually a skirt, as a part of the design of the garment, with the purpose of adding controlled fullness and freedom of movement, or taking up excess fabric. There...

Key facts for pleat
Property	Value
Headword	pleat
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/pliːt/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#76,219
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	0
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “pleat” sits in English frequency

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

#76,219

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

pleat is uncommon English at frequency #76,219 among 46,516 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /pliːt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

pleat doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English, from a variant of plait, from Old French pleit. Doublet of plait. The correct English form is pleat, spelled P-L-E-A-T.

Definition

1
A fold in the fabric of a garment, usually a skirt, as a part of the design of the garment, with the purpose of adding controlled fullness and freedom of movement, or taking up excess fabric. There are many types of pleats, differing in their construction and appearance.
2
A similar fold in a filter, lampshade, or various other products.
3
A fold in an organ, usually a longitudinal fold in a long leaf such as that of palmetto, lending it stiffness.
4
A plait.

Etymology

From Middle English, from a variant of plait, from Old French pleit. Doublet of plait.

This word in other languages

plisado(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 "pleat"?

"pleat" is spelled P-L-E-A-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pliːt/.

What does "pleat" mean?

As a noun, "pleat" means: A fold in the fabric of a garment, usually a skirt, as a part of the design of the garment, with the purpose of adding controlled fullness and freedom of movement, or taking up excess fabric. There...

How do you pronounce "pleat"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "pleat" is /pliːt/. 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 "pleat"?

From Middle English, from a variant of plait, from Old French pleit. Doublet of plait. 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.

Using “pleat”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is P-L-E-A-T - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /pliːt/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.