diaper
Americannoun
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a piece of cloth or other absorbent material folded and worn as underpants by a baby not yet toilet-trained.
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Also called diaper cloth. a linen or cotton fabric with a woven pattern of small, constantly repeated figures, as diamonds.
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Also called diaper pattern. such a pattern, originally used in the Middle Ages in weaving silk and gold.
verb (used with object)
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to put a diaper on.
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to ornament with a diaperlike pattern.
noun
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): nappy. a piece of soft material, esp towelling or a disposable material, wrapped around a baby in order to absorb its excrement
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a woven pattern on fabric consisting of a small repeating design, esp diamonds
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fabric having such a pattern
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such a pattern, used as decoration
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verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of diaper
1300–50; Middle English diapre < Anglo-French dia(s)p(r)e < Medieval Latin diasprus made of diaper < Medieval Greek díaspros pure white, equivalent to Greek di- di- 3 ( def. ) + Medieval Greek áspros white
Explanation
A diaper is what babies wear before they’re potty trained. It’s a white cloth or other disposable fabric that’s folded up between the baby’s legs to catch the poop and whatnot. Awwww, isn’t that cute? In many countries, a diaper is also called a "nappy.” A baby can wear a diaper, but you can also diaper a baby, which means to put a diaper on. The word diaper comes from an Old French root, diaspre meaning "ornamental cloth." Over time it also came to mean a "towel or napkin" and by the 1830s, it had the modern sense of a cloth used to swaddle a baby's bottom.
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.
"My daughter was wearing a diaper, they took it off," Amal says.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
When Kirstie Rickert’s daughter was born a preemie two years ago, diaper rashes were a major and relentless struggle.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
It has also achieved the breakthrough of managing to use the pulp, which makes up the bulk of a diaper, to make new ones.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
Israel handed over the diaper bag he’d been carrying around and the baby’s bottles.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
Sitting next to the sink was a small green monkey wearing a diaper.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
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.
