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cheongsam

American  
[chawng-sahm] / ˈtʃɔŋˈsɑm /

noun

  1. a form-fitting, knee-length dress with a mandarin collar and slit skirt, worn chiefly by Chinese women.


cheongsam British  
/ ˈtʃɒŋˈsæm /

noun

  1. a straight dress, usually of silk or cotton, with a stand-up collar and a slit in one side of the skirt, worn by Chinese women

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cheongsam

1955–60; < Chinese dial. (Guangdong) chèuhngsāam, equivalent to Chinese chángshān long dress


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:

For a 2017 state dinner hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, she donned a Gucci dress inspired by the traditional Chinese cheongsam style.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 3, 2019

“The girl in a cheongsam looks beautiful. Isn’t it a good thing that our culture is appreciated by people from other countries?” one user said on Weibo, a Chinese Twitter-like social media platform.

From Reuters ● May 3, 2018

A picture of another woman with black hair dressed in a red cheongsam said: “I am _______. Shanghai is my hometown.”

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2017

Tucked into the pages were black-and-white photographs of workers, managers, and apprentices in dark cheongsam robes.

From The New Yorker ● Oct. 12, 2015

I supposed seeing a girl my age wearing a cheongsam on a Tuesday morning was cause to raise an eyebrow, even in our neighborhood.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

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