polka dot
Americannoun
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a dot or round spot (printed, woven, or embroidered) repeated to form a pattern on a textile fabric.
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a pattern of or a fabric with such dots.
noun
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one of a pattern of small circular regularly spaced spots on a fabric
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a fabric or pattern with such spots
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( as modifier )
a polka-dot dress
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of polka dot
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85
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.
Wayne would swagger into town to shoot flicks like “Blue Steel,” a 1934 western starring The Duke as a U.S. marshal who pursues a baddie named the Polka Dot Bandit.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2025
Since then, “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” has become a pop-culture staple, frequently appearing in films and TV commercials through the decades.
From Washington Post • Jun. 3, 2022
As he played a set that included a remix of “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini,” the crowd mostly gawked and recorded videos.
From New York Times • Oct. 25, 2021
The same is true of Polka Dot Man.
From Slate • Aug. 7, 2021
Then the old chief Polka Dot arose in his wrath, to which he added a pair of moose hide moccasins, and he upbraided his daughter for her conduct.
From A Guest at the Ludlow and Other Stories by Edgar Wilson
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.
