weave
/wiːv/verb, noun
weave is spelled W-E-A-V-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, weave means “To form something by passing lengths or strands of material over and under one another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in weave?
| Letters | 5: W-E-A-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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 weave?
Weave appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th 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 weave?
- /wiːv/
Weave 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: En-us-weave.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with weave
Sounds like: we've (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of weave
- weaves present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- weaving participle, present
- wove past
- weaved past, participle
- woven participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does weave mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To form something by passing lengths or strands of material over and under one another.
This loom weaves yarn into cloth.
- 2
To spin a cocoon or a web.
Spiders weave beautiful but deadly webs.
- 3
To unite by close connection or intermixture.
- 4
To compose creatively and intricately; to fabricate.
to weave the plot of a story
- 5
To move by turning and twisting.
The drunk weaved into another bar.
- 6
To make (a path or way) by winding in and out or from side to side.
The ambulance weaved its way through the heavy traffic.
- 7
To move the head back and forth in a stereotyped pattern, typically as a symptom of stress.
noun
- 1
A type or way of weaving.
That rug has a very tight weave.
- 2
Human or artificial hair worn to alter one's appearance, either to supplement or to cover the natural hair.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Weave in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tisser , armure, tissu , se faufiler, se frayer un chemin , serpenter |
| German | weben , Webart |
| Portuguese | tecer , costura , costurar , aplique |
| Spanish | tejer, entretejer , tejido , zigzaguear, serpentear |
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 weave come from?
From Middle English weven (“to weave”), from Old English wefan (“to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *weban, from Proto-Germanic *webaną, from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to weave, braid”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).