First recorded in 1865–70; named after J. T. Brudnell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797–1868), British cavalryman of Crimean War fame
A cardigan is a sweater that opens in front. Your favorite cardigan might have pearl buttons and pockets. Unlike a sweater that you pull on over your head, a cardigan is shrugged on over the shoulders and buttons, zips, or snaps up the front — or is worn open, with no fasteners at all. During the Crimean War in the 1800s, English general James Thomas Brudenell's troops wore jackets that opened in front, and since he was the 7th Earl of Cardigan, these garments — and future open-front sweaters — were known as cardigans.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dressed in thrift-store finds, a flowy dress with a half-buttoned cardigan, Blevins packs a hipster style that’s chic without playing the fashion game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
Wearing a pink dress and an oversize pink cardigan, Kaley G.M. told the jury that she started watching YouTube videos at age 6 and made an Instagram account at age 9.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Wednesday's Instagram post showed a picture of Van Der Beek wearing a white top and cardigan.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
Traitor Rachel opted for bright coloured knitwear in the final episode of the series too, wearing a £350 pink and red cardigan, also from Hope Macaulay.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
He heard urgent voices, and then Professor McGonagall swept back into view, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey, who was pulling a cardigan on over her nightdress.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
Karen Jones, who works in the local café Food for Thought, says it's the quietest she's known Cardigan to be in the four years she's worked here.
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026
He says "a big splash of fame" highlighting how the area was mainly made up of independent shops had drawn people to Cardigan.
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026
The second part honors David Rhys Jones, a schoolteacher at Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi in Cardigan, Wales, who taught the study's lead author.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 21, 2026
At the highest end are boarding schools such as Cardigan Mountain, where repeating a grade for academic, emotional or other reasons has been common for decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026
Oh, I faintly recall you now, Mr. Cardigan.
From Cardigan by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
Schur decided to drop her own line of cardigans, designed for the store by a local artisan and manufactured overseas, after tariffs doubled the price she would have had to charge to at least $160.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025
She wore dowdy skirts with equally drab cardigans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2024
"Erdem's embroidered cardigans were some of the most beautiful pieces we saw," they added.
From BBC ● Dec. 27, 2023
There’s also “coastal granddaughter,” the youthful update that evolved from the “coastal grandmother” trend featuring oversized cardigans and linen sets.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 8, 2023
There are horse chestnuts in the gutters, wet-looking and glossy; we fill the pockets of our cardigans with them, uncertain what to use them for.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
