Christmas stocking

noun

1. a stocking or stocking-shaped bag traditionally hung on a mantelpiece or Christmas tree by children on Christmas Eve to hold small gifts that Santa Claus is credited with bringing.

Christmas stocking

noun

1. a stocking hung up by children on Christmas Eve for Santa Claus to fill with presents

Word History and Origins

Origin of Christmas stocking¹

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

Curtains that once graced the windows of a royal retreat have been turned into Christmas stockings to be auctioned for charity.

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"I insist the children have coal in their Christmas stockings, which is a luxury item in Wales," he joked.

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If I got one of those suckers in my Christmas stocking or trick-or-treating, I was like, “All right!”

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The commission’s rulings “grant PG&E an enormous Christmas stocking stuffed with ratepayer money for the bloated extension of Diablo Canyon,” said David Weisman, legislative director at the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility.

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Even into the 1950s, kids living in snowbound American climes might find an orange — one solitary, precious orange — sagging in the toe of their Christmas stocking.

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