pinafore

[ pin-uh-fawr, -fohr ]

noun

1. a child's apron, usually large enough to cover the dress and sometimes trimmed with flounces.
2. a woman's sleeveless garment derived from it, low-necked, tying or buttoning in the back, and worn as an apron or as a dress, usually over a blouse, a sweater, or another dress.
3. Chiefly British.
   1. a large apron worn by adults.
   2. a sleeveless smock.

pinafore

/ ˈpɪnəˌfɔː /

noun

1. an apron, esp one with a bib
2. short for pinafore dress
3. an overdress buttoning at the back

Word History and Origins

Origin of pinafore¹

First recorded in 1775–85; pin + afore

Word History and Origins

Origin of pinafore¹

C18: from pin + afore

Example Sentences

Ella noticed how Auriga kept smoothing her small pinafore and Aries kept stealing glances at Brigit.

From Literature

She designed shift dresses and pinafores, released soft bras that she dubbed “booby traps,” and helped popularize brightly colored tights, releasing the garment in exotic yellows, blues and reds instead of just the traditional black.

From Washington Post

Here’s the appropriately macabre opening of Coleridge’s “The Crime of the Urchin Mary”: “It was an ancient crone who wrote / Silly rhymes for tots / Was stopped by a maid in a pinafore / With blood-red polkadots.”

From Washington Post

In photos I saw when she was a kid and I was a kid, she looked like one of us, in pinafores and high pigtails, or Benetton sweaters and frizzy hair.

From Washington Post

On the night she died, she had dressed up in a frilly blouse and pinafore dress.

From BBC

Related Words

• apparel
• attire
• costume
• ensemble
• frock
• garb
• gown
• robe
• skirt
• smock
• suit
• uniform
• wardrobe