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• bonnet
  bonnet

  noun

  a hat, usually tying under the chin and often framing the face, formerly much worn by women but now worn mostly by children.
• Bonnet
  Bonnet

  noun

  Georges 1889–1973, French statesman.

bonnet

¹ American  

[bon-it] / ˈbɒn ɪt /

noun

• bonnets
  plural

1. a hat, usually tying under the chin and often framing the face, formerly much worn by women but now worn mostly by children.

2. Informal. any hat worn by women.

3. Chiefly Scot. a man's or boy's cap.

4. a bonnetlike headdress.

   an Indian war bonnet.

5. any of various hoods, covers, or protective devices.

6. a cowl, hood, or wind cap for a fireplace or chimney, to stabilize the draft.

7. the part of a valve casing through which the stem passes and that forms a guide and seal for the stem.

8. a chamber at the top of a hot-air furnace from which the leaders emerge.

9. Chiefly British. an automobile hood.

10. Nautical. a supplementary piece of canvas laced to the foot of a fore-and-aft sail, especially a jib, in light winds.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put a bonnet on.

Bonnet ² American  

[baw-ne] / bɔˈnɛ /

noun

1. Georges 1889–1973, French statesman.

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bonnet British  

/ ˈbɒnɪt /

noun

1. any of various hats worn, esp formerly, by women and girls, usually framing the face and tied with ribbons under the chin

2. Also called: bunnet.

   1. a soft cloth cap

   2. formerly, a flat brimless cap worn by men

3. the hinged metal part of a motor vehicle body that provides access to the engine, or to the luggage space in a rear-engined vehicle

4. a cowl on a chimney

5. nautical a piece of sail laced to the foot of a foresail to give it greater area in light winds

6. (in the US and Canada) a headdress of feathers worn by some tribes of American Indians, esp formerly as a sign of war

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Bonnet Scientific  

/ bô-nĕ′ /

1. Swiss naturalist who discovered parthenogenesis when he observed that aphid eggs could develop without fertilization. Bonnet was also one of the first scientists to study photosynthesis.

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bonnet Idioms  

1. see bee in one's bonnet.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bonnetless
  adjective
• bonnetlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bonnets
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of bonnet

1375–1425; late Middle English bonet < Middle French; Old French bonet material from which hats are made, perhaps < Old Low Franconian *bunni something bound (< Germanic *bund-, noun derivative of *bind- bind; cf. bundle), with -et -et; compare Late Latin abonnis, obbonis ribbon forming part of a headdress < Germanic, with a prefix corresponding to Middle High German obe- above

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Explanation

A bonnet is an old-fashioned hat that ties under the chin. Sometimes people dress babies up in frilly clothes and bonnets. A bonnet isn't stiff like many hats are — instead, it's made of soft fabric and has no brim. It was common during the 17th and 18th centuries for women to wear bonnets, to keep their hair tidy and protected from dust and sun when they were outdoors. Today, you're less likely to see a bonnet on a grown woman, unless she's a historical reenactor or acting in a play. The root of bonnet is the Scottish bonat, "brimless hat."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bonnet Bonnet bonnets

The car itself is an imposing four-door "Grand Tourer", with a long bonnet that deliberately harks back to Jaguar's emblematic 1960s E-Type.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Hoskins, who was also an Olympic cyclist, jumped onto the bonnet of the car and later held onto the car door as Dennis continued to drive.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Her teachers instantly recognized the pinafore dress and bonnet, but her fellow students didn’t know who she was.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

On one trip, then 6-year-old Bridget won a Laura look-alike contest in a handmade pinafore and bonnet sewn by her grandmother.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

I reached up my hand, intending to tuck the delicate gold frame under my bonnet, but I stopped myself.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Known as Charles Bonnet Syndrome, the phenomenon is the brain's way of "filling in" sudden missing visual data.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026

He was the son of married artists Adam Silverman and Louise Bonnet, who are the plaintiffs in the suit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025

Bite into a Maldivian Scotch Bonnet, and you’ll start to feel your tongue get numb, your forehead sweat and your brain crave a glass of milk.

From Salon ● Dec. 27, 2025

"Just 15 to 20 years ago, sending a kilogram into space cost $60,000," Bonnet told AFP.

From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025

She made it all the way to the statewide Miss Teen Blue Bonnet Pageant, and came in as second runner-up.

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

Plenty of bees, plenty of bonnets — though, thankfully for the women, no overlap between the two.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Papatsanis used ultrviolet light to illuminate mushrooms known as "beautiful bonnets" growing from a decaying log on the lower slopes of Mount Olympus in Greece.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Her first observation: “The bonnets look too fancy for the Ingalls family.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

In Antigua, the shortage of Scotch bonnets has been felt by manufacturers including Homebrew Hot Sauce.

From BBC ● May 31, 2026

One day she even dressed him in one of Mulies bonnets!

From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson

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