What does "braid" mean?
A sudden movement; a jerk, a wrench.
Braid
/bɹeɪd/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sudden movement; a jerk, a wrench.
- Grammar: braid is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: plait, band, basket, biddle.
- Useful contrasts: unplaited, untwist, unbraid.
- Usage evidence: The girl's father put her hair in a braid.
How to use "braid"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "braid" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "braid" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "braid" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "braid" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "braid" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "plait" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "braid", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sudden movement; a jerk, a wrench. countable, obsolete
"And than in a brayde Sir Launcelot brake hys chaynes of hys legges and of hys armys (and in the brakynge he hurte hys hondys sore)[…]."
- 2 A shelf or board for holding objects. Ireland, Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal
- 3 trimming used to decorate clothes or curtains wordnet
- 4 A weave of three or more strands of fibers, ribbons, cords or hair often for decoration. countable, uncountable
"The physician should evaluate for a history of tight ponytails, buns, chignons, braids, twists, weaves, cornrows, dreadlocks, sisterlocks, and hair wefts in addition to the usage of religious hair coverings."
- 5 A board to press curd for cheese. Ireland, Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair wordnet
- 7 A stranded wire composed of a number of smaller wires twisted together. countable, uncountable
- 8 A flat board attached to a beam, used for weighing. Ireland, Northern-England, Scotland, UK, dialectal
- 9 A tubular sheath made of braided strands of metal placed around a central cable for shielding against electromagnetic interference. countable, uncountable
- 10 A caprice or outburst of passion or anger. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Let the maide learne none uncleanly words, or wanton, or uncomely gesture and moving of the body, no not so much as when she is yet ignorant what shee doth, and innocent; for shee shall doe the same, when shee is growne bigger and of more discretion, […] And oftentimes such braides come uppon them against their will."
- 11 Given two sets of n points on corresponding positions on two parallel lines, a braid is a unique set of crossings (over or under) between n strands that connect each point on one line to a point on the other line such that all points represent the terminus of one and only one strand and the traversal of any strand from a starting point to an ending point never moves further away from the from the ending point. countable, uncountable
"We introduce braids via their historical roots and uses, make connections with knot theory and present the mathematical theory of braids through the braid group."
- 12 A wicker guard for protecting newly grafted trees. countable, dialectal, uncountable
- 13 A moment, stound. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 14 A turn of work, job. countable, obsolete, uncountable
- 15 A trick; deception. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To make a sudden movement with, to jerk. obsolete, transitive
- 2 form or weave into a braid or braids wordnet
- 3 To start into motion. archaic, intransitive
- 4 decorate with braids or ribbons wordnet
- 5 To weave together, intertwine (strands of fibers, ribbons, etc.); to arrange (hair) in braids. transitive
"Braid your locks with rosy twine."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 make by braiding or interlacing wordnet
- 7 To mix, or make uniformly soft, by beating, rubbing, or straining, as in preparing food.
- 8 To reproach; to upbraid. obsolete
"Great King, / Few loue to heare the ſinnes they loue to act, / T'would brayde your ſelfe too neare for me to tell it […]"
Adjective
- 1 Crafty, deceitful. obsolete
"Since Frenchmen are so braid, / Marry that will, I live and die a maid."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"The girl's father put her hair in a braid."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "braid"?
Common synonyms include: plait, band, basket, biddle, braiding, braidwork.
How do you use "braid" in a sentence?
The girl's father put her hair in a braid.
How do you pronounce "braid"?
Pronounced /bɹeɪd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English braiden, breided, bræiden, from Old English breġdan (“to move quickly, pull, shake, swing, throw (wrestling), draw (sword), drag; bend, weave, braid, knit, join together; change color, vary, be transformed; bind, knot; move, be pulled; flash”), from Proto-West Germanic *bregdan, from Proto-Germanic *bregdaną (“to flicker, flutter, jerk, tug, twitch, flinch, move, swing”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrēḱ-, *bʰrēǵ- (“to shine, shimmer”). Cognate with Scots Scots brade, Scots braid (“to move quickly or suddenly”), Saterland Frisian braidje (“to knit”), West Frisian breidzje, Dutch breien (“to knit”), Low German breiden, German breiden, Bavarian bretten (“to move quickly, twitch”), Icelandic bregða (“to move quickly, jerk”), Faroese bregða (“to move quickly, react swiftly; to draw (sword)”) and Faroese bregda (“to plaid, braid, twist, twine”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English brede, bræd, bred, from Old English bred (“board, plank, tablet, table”), from Proto-West Germanic *bred, from Proto-Germanic *bredą (“board, plank”), e-grade byform of *burdą (“board, plank”). Cognate with Scots bred, braid, brad (“board, plank, wooden tablet”), Saterland Frisian Brääd (“board, plank”), West Frisian bret (“board, plank”), Dutch bred, berd (“plank, table”), German Low German Bredd (“board, plank”), German Brett (“board, plank”), Danish bræt (“board, plank”)..