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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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Clad in a gray overcoat and tidy ascot, Ronnie Chism strides confidently in front of the camera.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2022
There’s no record of whether Bart actually put on the robe and ascot, but he and Liberty hit it off immediately and had puppies together, scandalizing upper-crust pet society.
From Slate • Jan. 31, 2021
Three of his brothers had them, too; the fourth, Uncle Bill, had an ascot — had you ever met Uncle Bill, you would conclude that the ascot essentially was a mustache.
From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2020
“His name is Beasley. You’ll recognize him right away. He’ll be wearing an ascot, a Sam Brown cartridge belt, and a Bowie knife. I’m making him leave his pearl-handled revolver at home.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
