frock

American  

[frok] / frɒk /

noun

1. a gown or dress worn by a girl or woman.

2. a loose outer garment worn by peasants and workers; smock.

3. a coarse outer garment with large sleeves, worn by monks.

4. frock coat.

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verb (used with object)

1. to provide with, or clothe in, a frock.

2. to invest with priestly or clerical office.

frock British  

/ frɒk /

noun

1. a girl's or woman's dress

2. a loose garment of several types, such as a peasant's smock

3. a coarse wide-sleeved outer garment worn by members of some religious orders

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verb

1. (tr) to invest (a person) with the office or status of a cleric

Other Word Forms

• frockless adjective
• underfrock noun

Etymology

Origin of frock

1300–50; Middle English froke < Old French froc < Frankish; compare Old Saxon, Old High German hroc coat

Explanation

Use the noun frock as an old-fashioned way to say "dress." You might wear a new pink frock to your best friend's birthday party. Typically, girls and women wear frocks, especially to formal events like weddings and fancy parties. The word frock isn't as common today as it was in the past, though it's a great way to refer to a dress. You can also call a monk's loose, long-sleeved garment a frock. The word's origin is Germanic, and it comes directly from the French word froc, "a monk's habit."

Example Sentences

Heading into the exhibition I was eager to see what 18th-century ribbons and laces if not frock coats and gowns would be displayed as ancillary objects.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026

Watching from the Mall, Grace Gothard, from Mitcham, made her Union Jack dress draped with the Ghanian flag while Satvinder Cubb, from Chingford made a frock made from two "Lest we forget" scarves.

From BBC • May 5, 2025

He was popularized by 1980s pop star Adam Ant, who donned a frock coat and tricorn hat and had a hit with Turpin’s famous slogan, “Stand and Deliver.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 28, 2024

Since Monday, the internet has been losing its collective mind over a new photo of the 33-year-old actor modeling a light-blue frock that appears to be magically suspended in the air.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2023

A woman in a pink striped frock and a hair-net came across the grass towards us.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

Related Words

• apron
• gown
• robe