1905–10; so called from the fashionable dress worn at the Ascot races
An ascot is a wide necktie that resembles a small scarf. If you aren't a British earl or Austin Powers, wearing an ascot could be considered a fashion risk. An ascot is an old-fashioned version of a tie, usually made of narrow silk that gets much wider at the ends and is pinned or tacked at the neck. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, ascots were often worn with morning suits, and today groomsmen in weddings sometimes wear ascots. The word comes from the name of an English village, Ascot, known for meetings requiring formal dress.
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Ultimately the “best Tim” title, trophy and super-sized check worth $50 went to 21-year-old Staten Island resident Miles Mitchell, who channeled Chalamet’s “Wonka” look for his getup — ascot and top hat included.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2024
Wearing a blue seersucker suit spiffed up by a paisley ascot, he pointed at a display of ancient Greek art.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 29, 2022
The larger one was named Mayonnaise and the smaller one was named Tartar Sauce and had a little ruffle of feathers under his chin like an ascot.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2022
Their most powerful cudgel was Thompson’s catty barroom raconteur Buddy Cole, a trash-talking one-man pride revolution in an ascot.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2022
Instead of a bow tie he had an ascot.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
For his birthday week, Prince William was joined by his wife at Royal Ascot for the first time since 2023.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
River below Dodger Stadium and toward downtown, and L.A. finally made the Ascot Park hills in El Sereno into a nature preserve.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
In another picture, he appears to be at Royal Ascot with Epstein and Maxwell.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2025
Princess Diana once wore one of Hogg's dresses, while Princess Eugenie wore one of her custom designs to Ascot in 2013.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
He retired from the public service in 1892, and died at Ascot on the 11th of June 1896.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various
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.
