blouse
Americannoun
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blouses
plural
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a usually lightweight, loose-fitting garment for women and children, covering the body from the neck or shoulders more or less to the waistline, with or without a collar and sleeves, worn inside or outside a skirt, slacks, etc.
-
a single-breasted, semifitted military jacket.
-
a loose outer garment, reaching to the hip or thigh, or below the knee, and sometimes belted.
verb (used without object)
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blouses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bloused,
past participle, past
-
blousing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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blouses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
bloused,
past participle, past
-
blousing
present participle
noun
-
a woman's shirtlike garment made of cotton, nylon, etc
-
a loose-fitting smocklike garment, often knee length and belted, worn esp by E European peasants
-
a loose-fitting waist-length belted jacket worn by soldiers
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
blousesimple
-
blousessimple
-
have blousedperfect
-
has blousedperfect
-
am blousingprogressive
-
are blousingprogressive
-
is blousingprogressive
-
have been blousingperfect progressive
-
has been blousingperfect progressive
Past
-
blousedsimple
-
had blousedperfect
-
was blousingprogressive
-
were blousingprogressive
-
had been blousingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of blouse
1820–30; < French, perhaps from the phrase *vêtement de laine blouse garment of short (i.e., uncarded, pure) wool; compare Provençal ( lano ) blouso pure (wool) < Old High German blōz naked, cognate with Old English bleat poor, miserable
Explanation
A blouse is a shirt usually worn by a woman. Your grandmother's favorite silk blouse might have pearl buttons down the front. A dressy item of clothing worn on the top of the body, mainly by girls or women, is sometimes called a blouse. Some military and historical garments are also blouses, and you can use the word as a verb meaning "to puff out or hang in folds," the way many blouses do. In French the word means "workman or peasant's shirt," but beyond that its origin is mysterious.
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.
See Examples For:
In college, I found a treadle machine in an empty dorm room, oiled it and made a blouse and quilt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
He complimented her on her blue pleated skirt and white blouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
I tried to stay calm and told her to use her blouse to wipe off the blood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 15, 2026
The garment gained prominence last week when President John Dramani Mahama wore it during a state visit to Zambia, where some mockingly called it a "blouse," prompting a fierce response from Ghanaians online.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
She pulled up the right side of her blouse and there was a patch of skin missing, about the size of a large walnut, from her side.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
“I saw many girls whose clothing would previously have been reprimanded by the government—unveiled, wearing blouses and pants, with manicured nails,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The company has tried to offer more products beyond jeans — such as dresses, blouses and other items geared toward women — as well as modern riffs on old favorites like 501s.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
She recommends looking at the age and material of your shirts, blouses and T-shirts before deciding how to store them.
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Their 1998 “Stromboli” collection revolved around a Christian theme, a Marian procession, and dresses, tunics and blouses featuring Marian imagery.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
In Otavalo, there are indigenas everywhere, and in the market there is booth after booth of gold beads and dark anacos and shiny white blouses.
From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau
The men are variously clothed in bloused tops and tights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Where the small was just that in the chest, and ever so slightly too short in the arms, the medium bloused out a bit at the waist.
From Slate ● Nov. 24, 2015
They have replaced belts with sashes, bared arms and necks, lowered hiplines, emphasized the bloused dress and overblouse.
From Time Magazine Archive
His best look: a long dress in a pinwheel print, belted, bloused and all at once both elegant and sensuous.
From Time Magazine Archive
His trousers settled well on his hips and his white shirt bloused over his belt.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Failing to master synchronized heel pivots of marching drills or proper blousing of his pants, he received the most chits of any of his classmates and was punished repeatedly.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2018
And at the time when the front of every woman's waist fell far below her belt in a copiously blousing sag, Mrs. Marshall's trim tautness had in it something horrifying.
From The Bent Twig by Dorothy Canfield Fisher
Her eyes had something of their old-time sparkle as she reached inside the blousing front of her flannel shirt and laid in Mrs. Toomey’s hand a packet of crisp banknotes secured by bands of elastic.
From The Fighting Shepherdess by Caroline Lockhart
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