an outfit for women, advocated about 1850 by Amelia Jenks Bloomer, consisting of a short skirt, loose trousers gathered and buttoned at the ankle, and often a coat and a wide hat.
(used with a plural verb) bloomers,
loose trousers gathered at the knee, formerly worn by women as part of a gymnasium, riding, or other sports outfit.
women's underpants of similar, but less bulky, design.
the trousers of a bloomer outfit.
any of various women's garments with full-cut legs gathered at the bottom edge.
a plant that blooms.
a night bloomer.
a person who develops skills, abilities, interests, etc., commensurate with their capacities: See late bloomer.
She was a quiet, methodical child who became a late bloomer.
An Americanism dating to 1850–55; named after A.J. Bloomer
First recorded in 1720–30; bloom 1 + -er 1
First recorded in 1885–90; bloom(ing) (as euphemism for bloody ) + -er 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Uranus is technically visible with the naked eye, but you'd need perfect eyesight and ideal conditions," Dr Bloomer explains.
From BBC • Feb. 25, 2025
Defending, James Bloomer had urged jurors to leave emotion out of their decision-making and questioned the accounts of his victims.
From BBC • Dec. 10, 2024
Bloomer admits most people outside her field don't particularly notice or appreciate crayfish, but she says they're surprisingly charismatic little creatures and are extremely important in their freshwater ecosystems.
From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2024
Bloomer says this spatial scale is meaningful for conservation planning efforts but masks the exact locations where sensitive or imperiled species were found.
From Science Daily • Nov. 25, 2024
“Just a small affair. Nobody will dress. It’s the anniversary of the founding of the Bloomer League—you didn’t even remember that.”
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
