duvet
Americannoun
noun
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another name for continental quilt
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Also called: duvet jacket. a down-filled jacket used esp by mountaineers
Etymology
Origin of duvet
First recorded in 1750–60; from French: “down” (plumage), Middle French, alteration of dumet, derivative of Old French dum, dun, ultimately from Old Norse dūnn; cognate with Dutch dons, German Daune, Swedish dun; see down 2
Explanation
A duvet is a thick, warm blanket filled with down or feathers. Having a duvet on your bed keeps you warm at night. Usually, a duvet consists of a puffy quilt — also called a "comforter" — inside a specially fitted cover. If you use a duvet and cover, you don't need a top sheet or a bedspread. Duvet is originally a French word, and it's retained its silent t in English, being pronounced "doo-vay." Originally the French word was dumay, a diminutive of dum, or "down."
Vocabulary lists containing duvet
A Monster Calls
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Far from the Tree
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Between Shades of Gray
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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.
Perhaps that’s somewhat different from covering a duvet with a bedspread — although, in fairness, that doesn’t exist either.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
In this case, I can’t see how ironing out a few wrinkles and covering a rumpled duvet with a digital bedspread materially misrepresents your home.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
Miss Alker stresses it's important to eat a balanced diet, do exercise and spend time outside - even when all you want to do is cuddle up under the duvet.
From BBC • Oct. 10, 2025
“It just looked like a statue. I was like, ‘How am I going to get this on?’” the 22-year-old recalled from under a fluffy duvet in her bedroom in New York, where she now lives.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2024
I pull the duvet over my head, close my eyes tightly.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
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.
