smock

[smok]

noun

1. a loose, lightweight overgarment worn to protect the clothing while working.

verb (used with object)

1. to clothe in a smock.

2. to draw (a fabric) by needlework into a honeycomb pattern with diamond-shaped recesses.

smock

/ smɒk /

noun

1. any loose protective garment, worn by artists, laboratory technicians, etc

2. a woman's loose blouse-like garment, reaching to below the waist, worn over slacks, etc

3. Also called: smock frock. a loose protective overgarment decorated with smocking, worn formerly esp by farm workers

4. archaic,  a woman's loose undergarment, worn from the 16th to the 18th centuries

verb

1. to ornament (a garment) with smocking

Other Word Forms

• smocklike adjective
• unsmocked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of smock¹

before 1000; Middle English (noun), Old English smocc; originally name for a garment with a hole for the head; compare Old Norse smjūga to put on (a garment) over the head

Word History and Origins

Origin of smock¹

Old English smocc; related to Old High German smocco, Old Norse smokkr blouse, Middle High German gesmuc decoration

Example Sentences

But almost every silhouette was inspired after a specific design she used for almost all her shirts: a boxy shape with four front pockets and partial buttons, similar to a smock.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

One man in white smock and flowing beard waved a giant flag; another held a large silver icon above Georgescu's head.

Read more on BBC

He said: "When you've been sitting there since the crack of dawn in a smock waiting to have open heart surgery, however calm I tried to feel, you still get a bit nervous."

Read more on BBC

Beatrice was wearing her polished cotton, very girlish with the smocking across the bodice.

Read more on Literature

At one place, a German officer reported, “the whole village was in flames, cattle bellowed desperately in barns, half-burned chickens rushed about demented, two men in peasant smocks lay dead against a wall.”

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• apparel 
• attire 
• costume 
• ensemble 
• frock 
• garb 
• gown 
• robe 
• skirt 
• suit 
• uniform 
• wardrobe