beret
Americannoun
-
berets
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of beret
1820–30; < French < Gascon berret, OPr. ber ( r ) et. See biretta
Explanation
A beret is a round, soft hat. Berets were first made in 17th-century France, and they're still commonly associated with that country. If you enjoy French culture, you might don a beret while eating baguettes with brie. We can trace the origin of beret back to the Late Latin birrus, "large, hooded cloak," and since the word itself is French, the t is silent — beret rhymes with tray. From the time they were invented, berets have been casual, fashionable caps most often made of wool or felt. The armies of several countries, including Italy and the U.S. Special Forces, also wear berets as part of their uniform.
Vocabulary lists containing beret
Put a Lid On It: Hats, Hoods, and Other Headgear
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English Words Derived from French, List 7
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A Good Kind of Trouble
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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.
See Examples For:
The same logic dictates the "forced march" the hopefuls must undergo -- the final exercise required to earn the paratrooper's beret.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The Queen wore a red Grenadier Guards uniform dress designed by Fiona Clarke with a black beret with a white plume and a Grenadier Guards cap badge designed by Phillip Treacy.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Cannes had kept the award under wraps until the actor walked on stage for the premiere wearing a black suit and a white beret.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Curtis Sliwa has six cats, wears a red beret and is running to be the next mayor of New York City.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
One of them was wearing a green beret and the other had a white mole on his chin like a fruit seed.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Many men are in what has become a kind of Canon Français uniform of berets and braces.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
On both occasions, the now shaven-headed "Pulp Fiction" icon wore fetching French berets, a white one for his award and a black one for the premiere of his semi-autobiographical movie, "Propeller One-Way Night Coach".
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
In 2015, many of the youth clubs merged into the Defense Ministry’s Youth Army with military-style uniforms and red berets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
He waded through the crowd in a knot of security guys, several wearing the iconic red berets of Sliwa’s vigilante organization, the Guardian Angels.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2025
I’ll pretend you’re busy eating croissants and wearing berets and hurting your neck looking up at the Eiffel Tower.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
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.
