frill

American  

[fril] / frɪl /

noun

• frills
  plural

1. a trimming, as a strip of cloth or lace, gathered at one edge and left loose at the other; ruffle.

2. something resembling such a trimming, as the fringe of hair on the chest of some dogs.

3. affectation of manner, style, etc.

4. something superfluous.

5. Photography. wrinkling or loosening of an emulsion at the edges, usually due to excessively high temperature during developing.

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verb (used with object)

1. to trim or ornament with a frill or frills.

2. to form into a frill.

verb (used without object)

1. Photography. (of an emulsion) to become wrinkled or loose.

frill British  

/ frɪl /

noun

1. a gathered, ruched, or pleated strip of cloth sewn on at one edge only, as on garments, as ornament, or to give extra body

2. a ruff of hair or feathers around the neck of a dog or bird or a fold of skin around the neck of a reptile or amphibian

3. Full name: oriental frill. (often capital) a variety of domestic fancy pigeon having a ruff of curled feathers on the chest and crop

4. photog a wrinkling or loosening of the emulsion at the edges of a negative or print

5. informal (often plural) a superfluous or pretentious thing or manner; affectation

   he made a plain speech with no frills

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verb

1. (tr) to adorn or fit with a frill or frills

2. to form into a frill or frills

3. (intr) photog (of an emulsion) to develop a frill

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• friller
  noun
• frilliness
  noun
• unfrill
  verb (used with object)
• frilly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• frills
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of frill

First recorded in 1585–95; origin uncertain

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Explanation

Use the noun frill when you talk about a decorative strip used as trim. You might have a frill along the bottom of your favorite skirt. The pleated trim or ruffle at the hem of a sweater or along the bottom of a sofa slipcover can be called a frill. You can also use the word in a more figurative way, to describe anything that's merely extra or for decoration: "The beginning of his speech was nothing but a frill," or "We need to work on our budget — first, let's cut out the frills, like getting our shoes shined and eating out every night."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frill frills

He points to where the three horns should be at the top of the frill, but the one in the middle is missing.

From BBC ● May 19, 2025

Color was a frill, and perhaps an illusion.

From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2024

The subject doesn’t require a lot of rhetorical frill to have its effect.

From Slate ● Aug. 23, 2024

And its frill was unlike any described so far: Not only did it sport two large, curved horns, it also boasted two spikes in the middle, one longer than the other.

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 20, 2024

Below them the streets were frill of burned-out cars squeezed together between the looming walls.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Fliers on Frontier don’t currently have any internet access at all—a relic of the airline’s ultradiscount business model, which had traditionally focused more on offering cheap fares than in-flight frills.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The hut was rebuilt in 2023 and first advertised last week, but comes with few frills.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

"We'll celebrate at home, modestly, with no frills," she said.

From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025

Through this perspective, audiences remain engaged with the film’s events, told largely in chronological order, without any unnecessary frills or dramatization.

From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2025

When its frills unfurled around its head, Annabeth couldn’t help but think what a regal and amazing monster it was that was about to kill her.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

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