smock

[ smok ]

noun

1. a loose, lightweight overgarment worn to protect the clothing while working.

verb (used with object)

1. to clothe in a smock.
2. to draw (a fabric) by needlework into a honeycomb pattern with diamond-shaped recesses.

smock

/ smɒk /

noun

1. any loose protective garment, worn by artists, laboratory technicians, etc
2. a woman's loose blouse-like garment, reaching to below the waist, worn over slacks, etc
3. Also calledsmock frock a loose protective overgarment decorated with smocking, worn formerly esp by farm workers
4. archaic.
   a woman's loose undergarment, worn from the 16th to the 18th centuries

verb

1. to ornament (a garment) with smocking

Derived Forms

• ˈsmockˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• smocklike adjective
• un·smocked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of smock¹

before 1000; Middle English (noun), Old English smocc; originally name for a garment with a hole for the head; compare Old Norse smjūga to put on (a garment) over the head

Word History and Origins

Origin of smock¹

Old English smocc; related to Old High German smocco, Old Norse smokkr blouse, Middle High German gesmuc decoration

Example Sentences

He said: "When you've been sitting there since the crack of dawn in a smock waiting to have open heart surgery, however calm I tried to feel, you still get a bit nervous."

From BBC

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

From Literature

At one place, a German officer reported, “the whole village was in flames, cattle bellowed desperately in barns, half-burned chickens rushed about demented, two men in peasant smocks lay dead against a wall.”

From Literature

He donned a chef’s smock this week to show a couple of them off, including a green salad with apple, almonds, blueberry vinaigrette — and roasted cicadas.

From Seattle Times

Or the thrill of seeing our normally staid hills streaked with bright color, as jumbled and vivid as a toddler’s smock after an afternoon of fingerpainting?

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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