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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
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
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
But what confronts Labour might have most of us hiding under the duvet, and the sheer number of dangers seems to be multiplying.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2025
She was bundled in a witchy outfit resembling a duvet cover.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025
I pull the duvet over my head, close my eyes tightly.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
By the 1970s, after the birth of their son, Orlando, Ms. Quant had turned her attention to cosmetics and home goods, designing duvets, bedsheets, stationery, lipstick and mascara, among other products.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2023
Disability charity Scope said a survey of 1,000 disabled households suggested 43% had cut back on electricity and gas, with some saying they were switching off heating and using duvets to keep warm.
From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2022
Instead they are stocking up on goods to keep themselves warm such as duvets, slow cookers and electric blankets, retail sales figures in Britain show.
From Reuters ● Nov. 28, 2022
Dirty sleeping bags and duvets show three sleeping spots on top of sheets of Styrofoam for insulation from the damp bare earth floor.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 17, 2022
I wonder if Stephen ever figured out what futons and duvets were.
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.
