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Synonyms

lacing

American  
[ley-sing] / ˈleɪ sɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of a person or thing that laces.

  2. a trimming of lace or braid.

  3. a beating or thrashing.

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

  5. a lace used for fastening, as in a shoe or corset.

  6. Building Trades, Engineering. any member or members, as a batten plate or steel bars, uniting the angles or flanges of a composite girder, column, or strut.

  7. Also called lacing course.  Masonry.

    1. a course of brick in a wall of rubble.

    2. a bond course in a rowlock arch.

  8. Nautical. any light line for fastening a sail, awning, or other cloth.

lacing British  
/ ˈleɪsɪŋ /

noun

  1. a course of bricks, stone, etc, for strengthening a rubble or flint wall

  2. another word for lace lace

  3. informal a severe beating (esp in the phrase give someone a lacing )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lacing

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; lace, -ing 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Not a star, just another has-been, lacing up his sneakers in an empty gym on a Wednesday night.”

From The Wall Street Journal

And on Sunday night, as America was heating up nachos for Super Bowl parties, Team USA’s skaters were lacing up for their own winner-take-all showdown.

From The Wall Street Journal

To Brady, it’s such an extreme level of body control that it reminds him more of the Olympians lacing it up in Milan than the football players at the Super Bowl.

From The Wall Street Journal

Its asymmetrical lacing design gave players a larger striking surface on the inside of the foot, enhancing the control of the ball.

From The Wall Street Journal

So he decides to keep appearing in clubs to tell tales of his relationship woes, lacing the commentary with rueful remarks that are vaguely comic, though nothing he says is actually funny.

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.