sunbonnet

American  

[suhn-bon-it] / ˈsʌnˌbɒn ɪt /

noun

1. a bonnet with a large brim shading the face and sometimes a piece projecting over the neck, worn by women and children.

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sunbonnet British  

/ ˈsʌnˌbɒnɪt /

noun

1. a hat that shades the face and neck from the sun, esp one made of cotton with a projecting brim now worn esp by babies

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Other Word Forms

• sunbonneted adjective

Etymology

Origin of sunbonnet

First recorded in 1815–25; sun + bonnet

Example Sentences

Once this infant phenom was discovered, she was put in a gingham dress and sunbonnet to sing on a circuit of local weddings and Methodist church socials.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2024

Once a girl in a sunbonnet and cotton dress came into Neiman's for a complete outfitting on her first visit to Dallas.

From Time Magazine Archive

The little old lady in the crisp white Mother Hubbard and blue gingham sunbonnet looked out of place in Palm Springs, California's gold-plated winter playground for Hollywood stars and Eastern industrialists.

From Time Magazine Archive

She is pregnant � a quiet, pale girl dressed in a calico wrapper, a sunbonnet and part of an old army uniform.

From Time Magazine Archive

One day, in 1849, when Harriet was working in the fields, near the edge of the road, a white woman wearing a faded sunbonnet went past, driving a wagon.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry