flak jacket

American  

noun

1. U.S. Air Force. an armored garment made of steel plates covered by a padded fabric, designed to protect vital parts of the body from shrapnel.

2. a protective vest, especially one that is bulletproof.

---

flak jacket British  

noun

1. a reinforced sleeveless jacket for protection against gunfire or shrapnel worn by soldiers, policemen, etc

---

Etymology

Origin of flak jacket

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flak jacket

Wine, who has been repeatedly arrested in the past, campaigned in a flak jacket, saying the race has become a "war".

From Barron's ● Jan. 12, 2026

Wearing a bluish flak jacket emblazoned with the word “Press,” she was recently in a Rafah refugee camp reporting on the lack of women’s sanitary products.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2023

He reportedly was wearing a flak jacket with “press” on it.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023

My children visit me when I'm working - they put on my flak jacket, my helmet, and we laugh together.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2023

That his controller wasn't a rifle and his raggedy family-reunion T-shirt wasn't a flak jacket.

From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds