anorak
Americannoun
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a hooded pullover jacket originally made of fur and worn in the Arctic, now made of any weather-resistant fabric.
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a jacket patterned after this, made of any weather-resistant material and worn widely.
noun
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a warm waterproof hip-length jacket usually with a hood, originally worn in polar regions, but now worn for any outdoor activity
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informal a socially inept person with a hobby considered by most people to be boring
Etymology
Origin of anorak
First recorded in 1920–25; from Inuit (Greenlandic) annoraaq
Explanation
An anorak is a waterproof jacket with a hood. Another word for an anorak is a parka. Many anoraks are lined with fur or some other warm, wooly material. Arctic explorers and climbers wear anoraks, as well as Inuits and other native people in very cold regions. Inuits, in fact, invented the anorak for hunting and fishing, from seal and caribou skin coated with fish oil. The Kalaallisut language, from Greenland, used the word anoraq, which became anorak in the 1930s.
Vocabulary lists containing anorak
The Graveyard Book
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Red, White & Royal Blue
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Black Swan Green
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tim did so, and was happy to accept the Anorak of the Year award in the good-natured spirit in which it was offered.
From BBC • Dec. 7, 2024
Yet despite being an Anorak of the Year, is Rachel's hobby even dull?
From BBC • Dec. 7, 2024
Anorak yellow was used with aplomb on several looks including a cross-over puffer shawl, which twinned the Asian style with the concept of an emergency heat blanket.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 20, 2022
The US Open champion Graeme McDowell had a word for the person who sent an email to a European Tour website pointing out Harrington's mistake – "Anorak."
From The Guardian • Jan. 21, 2011
It was, the news anchors said, located somewhere on the planet Chthonia, inside Castle Anorak.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
