gown

[ goun ]

noun

1. a woman's dress or robe, especially one that is full-length.

   Synonyms: frock

2. nightgown.
3. dressing gown.
4. evening gown.
5. a loose, flowing outer garment in any of various forms, worn by a man or woman as distinctive of office, profession, or status:

   an academic gown.

6. the student and teaching body in a university or college town.

verb (used with object)

1. to dress in a gown.

gown

/ ɡaʊn /

noun

1. any of various outer garments, such as a woman's elegant or formal dress, a dressing robe, or a protective garment, esp one worn by surgeons during operations
2. a loose wide garment indicating status, such as worn by academics
3. the members of a university as opposed to the other residents of the university town Compare town

verb

1. tr to supply with or dress in a gown

Other Words From

• un·gowned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gown¹

1300–50; Middle English goune < Old French < Late Latin gunna fur or leather garment

Word History and Origins

Origin of gown¹

C14: from Old French goune, from Late Latin gunna garment made of leather or fur, of Celtic origin

Idioms and Phrases

see cap and gown ; town and gown .

Synonym Study

See dress.

Example Sentences

Later, she takes revenge on her entire clan — whom she considers complicit in keeping her committed at Arkham — by gassing them, strutting around her family’s mansion in a yellow gown and a gas mask.

From Los Angeles Times

When Bryan didn’t like the gown LaPaglia wore to the Golden Globes, she said, he unfollowed her.

From Los Angeles Times

“Dan could have easily put me in a gown that was a little more subdued; he stuck with the pattern but kept a nonthreatening silhouette. It’s a sweet cap sleeve,” Preston says.

From Los Angeles Times

She even brought in a robe she wore for hair and makeup on “The Postman” to be Camilla’s dressing gown in a scene.

From Los Angeles Times

But no one who saw the South African singer Tyla ascend the stairs in May in a one-off Balmain couture gown made of sculpted sand will ever forget it.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• costume
• frock
• garb
• garment