accoutrement
Britishnoun
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equipment worn by soldiers in addition to their clothing and weapons
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(usually plural) clothing, equipment, etc; trappings
the correct accoutrements for any form of sport
Explanation
Does that shiny new car come with all the bells and whistles? Then it has plenty of accoutrements, or accessories. Say accoutrement with a French accent and you'll be referring to an outfit — a particularly bizarre outfit. But when we borrowed the word from France, it evolved to refer to any kind of trappings or extras, especially clothing accessories. So an accoutrement can be anything from a belt or bangles, to extra cup holders and heated bucket seats.
Vocabulary lists containing accoutrement
Treasure Island
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Friday Night Lights
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Beowulf
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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.
The place was a hit, drawing in people from all parts of Kabul, and became known as “Bacha Broot,” meaning “boy with the mustache” in Dari, a reference to Mirza’s apparently magnificent facial accoutrement.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2022
"Watching the lying-in-state, the procession from Buckingham Palace - all those ceremonial uniforms with their accoutrement fittings, we will have manufactured them," Mr Kelly said.
From BBC • Sep. 18, 2022
Virginia’s 73rd governor left a fleece vest hanging in the closet for the 74th, who had made that suburban-dad accoutrement his signature campaign-trail look.
From Washington Post • Jan. 17, 2022
I stripped out as much accoutrement and seasoning from the recipes as I could, but left basics like oil, butter, lemon, salt, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and garlic.
From Salon • Jan. 1, 2022
Except what we could carry in our pockets, and the warlike accoutrement mentioned above, we left the whole of our property at the college.
From A Tatter of Scarlet Adventurous Episodes of the Commune in the Midi 1871 by Crockett, S. R. (Samuel Rutherford)
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.
