kilt

UK: /ˈkɪlt/ US: /kɪlt/ ,(kilt)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

kilt /kɪlt/   n. [countable]

1. Clothing a knee-length plaid skirt with folds, worn by Scotsmen in the Highlands or in some military regiments
2. Clothing a skirt modeled on this.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

kilt  (kilt), n. 

1. Clothing any short, pleated skirt, esp. a tartan wraparound, as that worn by men in the Scottish Highlands.

v.t. 

2. Clothing to draw or tuck up, as the skirt, about oneself.
3. Clothing to provide (a skirt) with kilt pleats.

• Scandinavian; compare Danish kilte to tuck up
• Middle English kylte, perh. 1300–50

kilt′like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

kilt / kɪlt/ noun

1. a knee-length pleated skirt-like garment, esp one in tartan, as worn by men in Scottish Highland dress

verb (transitive)

1. to tuck (a skirt) up around one's body
2. to put pleats in (cloth, a skirt, etc)

Etymology: 18th Century: of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish kilte to tuck up, Old Swedish kilta lap

ˈkilted adjective