barrette

American

[buh-ret] / bəˈrɛt /

noun

a clasp for holding a woman's or girl's hair in place.

barrette British

/ bəˈrɛt /

noun

a clasp or pin for holding women's hair in place

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of barrette

From French, dating back to 1900–05; bar ¹, -ette

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.

A blue velvet box bearing a label "bracelets of Queen Marie Antoinette" holds the double bracelets, each composed of three strings of diamonds and a large barrette clasp, for a total of 112 diamonds.

From Reuters • Nov. 3, 2021

Hair was wound into a tight bun or frizzed-out, perhaps accented by golden heart barrette, lightly folded like butterfly wings.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2021

Before she left the United States to compete in the Olympics, Athing Mu spied a hair barrette in a department store.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2021

Her uncut hair falls to her shoulders, clipped back with a child’s barrette.

From New York Times • Jan. 1, 2021

“This is so not cool,” I say to Tats, unclasping my bangs from a barrette halfheartedly holding them.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023