What does "lace" mean?
A light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread.
Lace
noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·1 syllable ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread.
- Grammar: lace is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adorn, adulterate, adulterate, arabesque.
- Useful contrasts: button, plain fabric, purify.
- Usage evidence: Mary crochets lace every night.
How to use "lace"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lace" 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 "lace" 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 "lace" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lace" 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 "lace" is acting as noun, verb, slang 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 "adorn" 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 "lace", 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 light fabric containing patterns of holes, usually built up from a single thread. uncountable
"c. 1620, Francis Bacon, letter of advice to Sir George Villiers Our English dames are much given to the wearing of very fine and costly laces."
- 2 a delicate decorative fabric woven in an open web of symmetrical patterns wordnet
- 3 A cord or ribbon passed through eyelets in a shoe or garment, pulled tight and tied to fasten the shoe or garment firmly. countable
"your laces are untied, do them up!"
- 4 a cord that is drawn through eyelets or around hooks in order to draw together two edges (as of a shoe or garment) wordnet
- 5 A snare or gin, especially one made of interwoven cords; a net. countable, uncountable
"The king had ſnared been in loues ſtrong lace, [...]"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Spirits added to coffee or another beverage. countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable
"He is forced every Morning to drink his Dish of Coffee by itself, without the Addition of the Spectator, that used to be better than Lace to it."
Verb
- 1 To fasten (something) with laces. ergative
"When Jenny's stays are newly laced."
- 2 add alcohol to (beverages) wordnet
- 3 To interweave items. transitive
"to lace one's fingers together"
- 4 spin, wind, or twist together wordnet
- 5 To interweave the spokes of a bicycle wheel. transitive
"For these and other reasons, you may want to lace a new rim onto an existing hub, or vice versa. For some reason, probably because of the maze and complex angles of spokes, lacing and building a wheel has for years been a virtual mystery to even skilled home bike mechanics."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 draw through eyes or holes wordnet
- 7 To beat; to lash; to make stripes on. transitive
"I'll Lace your Coat for ye."
- 8 do lacework wordnet
- 9 To adorn with narrow strips or braids of some decorative material. transitive
"cloth laced with silver"
- 10 make by braiding or interlacing wordnet
- 11 To intersperse or diversify with something. figuratively, transitive
"The throne speech opening the New Democrat government’s second legislative session Dec. 2 was a modest document featuring caution and pragmatism laced with a few tidbits of democratic socialism."
- 12 To add alcohol, poison, a drug or anything else potentially harmful to (food or drink). transitive
- 13 To cover intricately with bands, strips, or the like, so as to resemble lace. transitive
"The world we lived in was wide, and most of it was open to us with little trouble. Roads, railways, and shipping lines laced it, ready to carry one thousands of miles safely and in comfort."
Example
"Mary crochets lace every night."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lace"?
Common synonyms include: adorn, adulterate, adulterate, arabesque, assail, assault.
How do you use "lace" in a sentence?
Mary crochets lace every night.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lace, laace, las, from Old French las, from Vulgar Latin *laceum, based on Latin laqueus. Doublet of lasso.
Etymology 2
From Middle English lacen, lasen, from Old French lacer, lacier, lasser, lachier, from the noun (see above).