Jump To:

• bloomer
  bloomer

  noun

  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.
• Bloomer
  Bloomer

  noun

  Amelia Jenks 1818–94, U.S. social reformer and women's-rights leader.

bloomer

¹ American  

[bloo-mer] / ˈblu mər /

noun

1. 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.

2. (used with a plural verb) bloomers,

   1. loose trousers gathered at the knee, formerly worn by women as part of a gymnasium, riding, or other sports outfit.

   2. women's underpants of similar, but less bulky, design.

   3. the trousers of a bloomer outfit.

   4. any of various women's garments with full-cut legs gathered at the bottom edge.

---

adjective

1. (of a woman's garment) having full-cut legs gathered at the bottom edge.

   bloomer shorts.

bloomer ² American  

[bloo-mer] / ˈblu mər /

noun

1. a plant that blooms.

   a night bloomer.

2. 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.

---

bloomer ³ American  

[bloo-mer] / ˈblu mər /

noun

1. a foolish mistake; blunder.

---

Bloomer ⁴ American  

[bloo-mer] / ˈblu mər /

noun

1. Amelia Jenks 1818–94, U.S. social reformer and women's-rights leader.

---

bloomer ¹ British  

/ ˈbluːmə /

noun

1. a plant that flowers, esp in a specified way

   a night bloomer

---

bloomer ² British  

/ ˈbluːmə /

noun

1. informal a stupid mistake; blunder

---

bloomer ³ British  

/ ˈbluːmə /

noun

1. a medium-sized loaf, baked on the sole of the oven, glazed and notched on top

---

Etymology

Origin of bloomer¹

An Americanism dating to 1850–55; named after A.J. Bloomer

Origin of bloomer²

First recorded in 1720–30; bloom ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of bloomer³

First recorded in 1885–90; bloom(ing) (as euphemism for bloody ) + -er ¹

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bloomer Bloomer

This upcoming bloom spotlights a plant nicknamed Odora, who last opened in 2024, and Odorysseus, a rookie public bloomer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Deniz Undav is Germany’s unstoppable late bloomer, who scores more frequently than Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

A 64-year-old late bloomer who arrived in Bloomington with a cocky press conference and group of James Madison transfers, Cignetti delivered swagger, talent and a gift for navigating college football’s turbulent, transfer-happy economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

Merrill Kelly, 37, SP, 2.9, 15.8: A late bloomer who became a stalwart starter for the Diamondbacks for years, Kelly might be restricted to a two-year deal because of his age.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2025

For the most part, I'd been a late bloomer.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Bloomer contacted biologists and museum curators across the country, asking them to examine their collections for unusually large specimens.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Mine was not the biggest, but it did make the top 20, so I'm super proud of it," Bloomer said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

"This was a case where we saw something unusual in the field and it sparked a future research direction," Bloomer said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026

Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as Mr and Mrs Bloomer, who were all British nationals.

From BBC ● May 9, 2025

Bloomer published an article about the dress in her temperance newspaper, the Lily, and before long it was known as the “bloomer outfit.”

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---