corset

[ kawr-sit ]

noun

1. Sometimes corsets. a close-fitting undergarment, stiffened with whalebone or similar material and often capable of being tightened by lacing, enclosing the trunk: worn, especially by women, to shape and support the body; stays.

verb (used with object)

1. to dress or furnish with or as if with a corset.
2. to regulate strictly; constrict.

corset

/ ˈkɔːsɪt /

noun

1. 1. a stiffened, elasticated, or laced foundation garment, worn esp by women, that usually extends from below the chest to the hips, providing support for the spine and stomach and shaping the figure
   2. a similar garment worn because of injury, weakness, etc, by either sex
2. informal.
   a restriction or limitation, esp government control of bank lending
3. a stiffened outer bodice worn by either sex, esp in the 16th century

verb

1. tr to dress or enclose in, or as in, a corset

Other Words From

• corset·less adjective
• un·corset·ed adjective
• well-corset·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of corset¹

1225–75; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to cors bodice, body + -et -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of corset¹

C14: from Old French, literally: a little bodice; see corselet

Example Sentences

I would never tell my mom, but I would wear those super big, long ’70s dresses and under, a full set: garter, stockings, corset.

From Los Angeles Times

I’m not spending hours of the day looking in the mirror or getting made up or going to the hairdresser’s every day or wearing a wig or a corset.

From Los Angeles Times

When on tour, she's required to change her outfit mid-show seven or eight times a night, navigating her way into corsets and sequins and feathered headdresses as a clock ticks down to the next song.

From BBC

Not about “Downton Abbey” — “I do not regret anything with a corset” she says now — but about television.

From Los Angeles Times

Gone are the stilettos that filled the closets of my youth, gone are the corsets and shapewear and thongs.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bodice
• underwear