accouterment
Americannoun
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a clothing accessory or an accessory piece of equipment: You will need sleeping bags and other accouterments for camping.
These nautical cufflinks are the perfect accouterment to any boating enthusiast's dress shirt.
You will need sleeping bags and other accouterments for camping.
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a piece of equipment carried by a soldier, excluding weapons and clothing.
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a characteristic feature, object, or sign associated with a particular role, situation, etc: Its members all have children, husbands, and the other accouterments of middle-class, American suburban living.
I take the snob to be someone with an exaggerated respect for wealth and all the other accouterments of status.
Its members all have children, husbands, and the other accouterments of middle-class, American suburban living.
Etymology
Origin of accouterment
First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle French accou(s)trement; accouter, -ment
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.
But I was in no hurry to shed this latest accouterment of age.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
This fragrant, crispy, classic accouterment — which is welcome alongside anything from lasagna to something entirely non-Italian or Italian American — takes the number-one spot.
From Salon • Dec. 28, 2022
His tunnel vision is both an accouterment of power and a tragicomic flaw.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2021
The actor Khary Payton has done a marvelous job of extending the character beyond his colorful accouterment — the elaborate wig, the slinking pet tiger — to create a cohesive, winning personality.
From New York Times • Nov. 5, 2017
There is little use in pressing your trousers between two boards under the mattress if you discount such neatness with the accouterment of an invading Martian.
From Greener Than You Think by Moore, Ward
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.
