smocking

[ smok-ing ]

noun

1. smocked needlework.
2. embroidery stitches used to hold gathered cloth in even folds.

smocking

/ ˈsmɒkɪŋ /

noun

1. ornamental needlework used to gather and stitch material in a honeycomb pattern so that the part below the gathers hangs in even folds

Word History and Origins

Origin of smocking¹

First recorded in 1885–90; smock + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Beatrice was wearing her polished cotton, very girlish with the smocking across the bodice.

From Literature

Seattle-based, U.K.-born artist Harriet Salmon has printed them onto long scrolls of satin called “American smocking,” then folded and stitched the fabric into neat squares.

From Seattle Times

Even down to the shape of this smocking and the crystal application and then the dégradé within the cape.

From New York Times

“Of course it turned out there was neither a mushroom cloud nor a smoking gun, or as Trump has repeatedly called it, a ‘smocking gun’,” Meyers said.

From The Guardian

“That’s probably why Trump’s speechwriters have never even bothered to write a line like that for him, because they know he’d never be able to pronounce the words – ‘We don’t want the smocking gun to be a mosh-room pizza.’”

From The Guardian

Related Words

• pleat