Standard Lemma guide

weft

noun · phrase · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /wɛft/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛft

1

noun

Meaning 1

The horizontal threads that are interlaced through the warp in a woven fabric.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, manufacturing, textiles, weaving

Examples

  • 1993, Anni Albers, On Weaving, note on Plate 17, page 48, To give greater firmness to the basket-weave plain weave, thin weft threads can be introduced that will be covered by the heavier pattern wefts of the basket weave.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The yarn used for the weft; the fill.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: business, manufacturing, textiles, weaving

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A hair extension that is glued directly to a person′s natural hair.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: arts, crafts, hairdressing, hobbies, lifestyle

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Alternative spelling of waif.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

phrase

Meaning 5

Acronym of wing(s), engine(s), fuselage(s), tail(s), a mnemonic for airplane identification, of most the most identifiable parts of the aeroplane, that can be used to distinguish one aircraft from another.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, acronym, alt-of

Topics: aeronautics, aerospace, aviation, business, engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

the yarn woven across the warp yarn in weaving

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: woof, filling, pick

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: thread, yarn

History

Etymology

From Middle English wefte, from Old English wefan (“to weave”), from Proto-West Germanic *weban, from Proto-Germanic *webaną. Equivalent to weave + -t (abstract nominal suffix).

Compare waif.

Across languages

Translations

59 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: لُحْمَة (luḥma) — horizontal threads
  • Armenian: թեզան (tʻezan) — horizontal threads
  • Aromanian: tramã — horizontal threads
  • Belarusian: уто́к (utók) — horizontal threads
  • Bulgarian: въ́тък (vǎ́tǎk) — horizontal threads
  • Catalan: trama — horizontal threads
  • Chinese Mandarin: 緯紗 /纬纱 (wěishā) — horizontal threads
  • Chinese Mandarin: 緯 /纬 (wěi) — horizontal threads
  • Czech: útek — horizontal threads
  • Dutch: inslag — horizontal threads
  • Finnish: kude — horizontal threads
  • French: fil de trame — horizontal threads
  • French: trame — horizontal threads
  • Friulian: trame — horizontal threads
  • German: Schussfaden — horizontal threads
  • Hungarian: vetülékfonal — horizontal threads
  • Ido: wefto — horizontal threads
  • Indonesian: pakan — horizontal threads
  • Indonesian: benang pakan — horizontal threads
  • Ingrian: kue — horizontal threads
  • Irish: inneach — horizontal threads
  • Italian: trama — horizontal threads
  • Japanese: 横糸 (yokoito) — horizontal threads
  • Japanese: 緯 (yokoito) — horizontal threads
  • Kazakh: арқау (arqau) — horizontal threads
  • Korean: 씨실 (ssisil) — horizontal threads
  • Korean: 위사 (wisa) — horizontal threads
  • Central Kurdish: پۆ (po) — horizontal threads
  • Latin: subtemen — horizontal threads
  • Macedonian: ја́ток (játok) — horizontal threads
  • Malayalam: ഊട് (ūṭŭ) — horizontal threads
  • Norwegian Bokmål: veft — horizontal threads
  • Norwegian Bokmål: innslag — horizontal threads
  • Norwegian Bokmål: islett — horizontal threads
  • Old East Slavic: утъкъ (utŭkŭ) — horizontal threads
  • Polish: wątek — horizontal threads
  • Portuguese: trama — horizontal threads
  • Quechua: mini — horizontal threads
  • Romanian: bătătură — horizontal threads
  • Russian: уто́к (utók) — horizontal threads
  • Sanskrit: ओत (ota) — horizontal threads
  • Serbo-Croatian: по̏тка — horizontal threads
  • Serbo-Croatian: pȍtka — horizontal threads
  • Slovak: útok — horizontal threads
  • Slovene: votek — horizontal threads
  • Spanish: trama — horizontal threads
  • Swedish: väft — horizontal threads
  • Swedish: inslag — horizontal threads
  • Turkish: argaç — horizontal threads
  • Ottoman Turkish: آرغاج (argac) — horizontal threads
  • Ukrainian: уті́к (utík) — horizontal threads
  • Venetan: trama — horizontal threads
  • Welsh: anwe — horizontal threads
  • Finnish: kudelanka — fill
  • Ingrian: kuerihma — fill
  • Polish: wątek — fill
  • Polish: nić wątku — fill
  • Romanian: țesătură — fill
  • Russian: уто́чная пря́жа (utóčnaja prjáža) — fill