kimono
Americannoun
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kimonos
plural
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a loose, wide-sleeved robe, fastened at the waist with a wide sash, characteristic of Japanese costume.
-
a woman's loose dressing gown.
noun
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a loose sashed ankle-length garment with wide sleeves, worn in Japan
-
any garment copied from this
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of kimono
1885–90; < Japanese: clothing, garb, equivalent to ki wear + mono thing
Explanation
A kimono is a lightweight Japanese robe. You might buy a kimono as a gift for your mom when you travel to Tokyo. A traditional kimono is nearly floor length, loose-fitting and with very wide sleeves. The cloth belt that ties around the waist of a kimono is called an obi. Both men and women wear kimonos, though they're more frequently worn by women. The word kimono literally means "a thing to wear" or "a thing to put on," from the Japanese roots ki, "wear," and mono, "thing."
Vocabulary lists containing kimono
East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - Introductory
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East Asia - High School
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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.
See Examples For:
After the first day of Wimbledon, a photo of Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka in a "reinterpreted kimono" also makes the front page.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
Australian tourist Olivia Martell-Groves went all in for the seasonal experience, and donned a flower-printed kimono while marvelling at the flowers.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
In Osaka, Japan, young women dressed in traditional kimono took part in a Shinto ritual procession to mark the end of the year at Sumiyoshi Taisha, one of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines.
From BBC ● Dec. 31, 2025
The setting is a placid pond, on whose banks sits a plump and serene fellow in a kimono, his eyes closed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
It was, I think, someone with a sense of humour who thoughtfully placed the scarlet kimono on the top of my suitcase whilst I was interviewing people in the dining car.
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
Olwande Akoth, a designer showcasing her upcycled kimonos at the fashion show, once traded in second-hand bales but often felt disheartened by their poor quality.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025
He took two kimonos with him to Nova, according to his brother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025
They won’t let her wear all her fabulous flowy dresses and kimonos in the hospital, which is a loss.
From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2025
The nine-month shoot in Vancouver through 2022 required a costume department of 85 to 125 people who made about 2,300 costumes, rented 1,300 pieces and purchased many modern kimonos that could be altered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2024
We spent most days padding around the house in our kimonos.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
