I. ˈplēt, usu -ēd.+V transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English pleten — more at plait
1. : fold ; especially : to form, crease, or arrange in pleats or folds similar to pleats
pleat a skirt
pleat a ruffle
2. : plait 2
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English plete — more at plait
1.
a. : a creased or uncreased fold in cloth made by doubling material over on itself to form a section of three thicknesses, stitched, attached, or held along one side from which it hangs or flares free — see box pleat , inverted pleat , kick pleat
b. : something resembling such a fold
a pleat of skin
a great flat acreage of sand, molded into endless neat pleats by the previous night's tides — Gerald Durrell
2. : a double fold especially in paper or leather (as in the accordion fold used typically on endpapers and in the pockets of books)
III. adjective
: pleated