lace

[ leys ]

/ leɪs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR lace ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a netlike ornamental fabric made of threads by hand or machine.

a cord or string for holding or drawing together, as when passed through holes in opposite edges.

ornamental cord or braid, especially of gold or silver, used to decorate uniforms, hats, etc.

a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance added to food or drink.

verb (used with object), laced, lac·ing.

to fasten, draw together, or compress by or as if by means of a lace.

to pass (a cord, leather strip, etc.), as through holes.

to interlace or intertwine.

to adorn or trim with lace.

to add a small amount of alcoholic liquor or other substance to (food or drink): He took his coffee laced with brandy.

to lash, beat, or thrash.

to compress the waist of (a person) by drawing tight the laces of a corset, or the like.

to mark or streak, as with color.

verb (used without object), laced, lac·ing.

to be fastened with a lace: These shoes lace up the side.

to attack physically or verbally (often followed by into): The teacher laced into his students.

Origin of lace

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English las < Old French laz, las ≪ Latin laqueus noose; (v.) Middle English lasen < Middle French lacier, lasser, lachier (French lacer) ≪ Latin laqueāre to enclose in a noose, trap

OTHER WORDS FROM lace

lace·like, adjective lac·er, noun re·lace, verb, re·laced, re·lac·ing. well-laced, adjective

Words nearby lace

lac insect, lacan, laccadive islands, laccadive, minicoy, and amindivi islands, laccolith, lace, lace bug, lace glass, lace into, lace pillow, lace stay

British Dictionary definitions for lace into (1 of 2)

lace into

verb

(intr, preposition) to attack violently, either verbally or physically

British Dictionary definitions for lace into (2 of 2)

lace

/ (leɪs) /

noun

a delicate decorative fabric made from cotton, silk, etc, woven in an open web of different symmetrical patterns and figures

a cord or string drawn through holes or eyelets or around hooks to fasten a shoe or garment

ornamental braid often used on military uniforms, etc

a dash of spirits added to a beverage

verb

to fasten (shoes, etc) with a lace

(tr) to draw (a cord or thread) through holes, eyes, etc, as when tying shoes

(tr) to compress the waist of (someone), as with a corset

(tr) to add a small amount of alcohol or drugs to (food or drink)

(tr; usually passive and foll by with) to streak or mark with lines or colours the sky was laced with red

(tr) to intertwine; interlace

(tr) informal to give a sound beating to

Derived forms of lace

lacelike, adjective lacer, noun

Word Origin for lace

C13 las, from Old French laz, from Latin laqueus noose

Idioms and Phrases with lace into

lace into

Also, light into. Attack, assail, as in He laced into me for arriving late, or She lit into him for forgetting the tickets. The first of these colloquial terms employs lace in the sense of “beat up or thrash,” a usage dating from the late 1500s. The idiom with light dates from the late 1800s and stems from the verb meaning “descend.”

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

lace

noun

verb (used with object), laced, lac·ing.

verb (used without object), laced, lac·ing.

Origin of lace

OTHER WORDS FROM lace

Words nearby lace

British Dictionary definitions for lace into (1 of 2)

verb

British Dictionary definitions for lace into (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of lace

Word Origin for lace

Idioms and Phrases with lace into

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

lace

noun

verb (used with object), laced, lac·ing.

verb (used without object), laced, lac·ing.

Origin of lace

OTHER WORDS FROM lace

Words nearby lace

Words related to lace into

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for lace into (1 of 2)

verb

British Dictionary definitions for lace into (2 of 2)

noun

verb

Derived forms of lace

Word Origin for lace

Idioms and Phrases with lace into

British Dictionary definitions for lace into (1 of 2)