gingham

American  

[ging-uhm] / ˈgɪŋ əm /

noun

1. yarn-dyed, plain-weave cotton fabric, usually striped or checked.

---

gingham British  

/ ˈɡɪŋəm /

noun

1. textiles

   1. a cotton fabric, usually woven of two coloured yarns in a checked or striped design

   2. ( as modifier )

      a gingham dress

---

Etymology

Origin of gingham

1605–15; < Dutch gingang < Malay gəŋgaŋ, giŋgaŋ with space between, hence, striped

Explanation

Checked cotton cloth is called gingham. If you're planning on eating lunch at the beach, you might want to bring your gingham picnic blanket — and plenty of sunscreen. When you see the cheerful checked pattern of gingham fabric, it probably makes you think of curtains in homey kitchen windows, your grandma's tablecloth, or little girls' summer dresses trimmed in rickrack. Most gingham is patterned with small checks of white and one other color. The word comes, via the Dutch gingang, from a Malay word that means "striped."

Example Sentences

There’s that “head in the clouds” gingham catastrophe, Maryam Keyhani’s showstopping $600-and-change confusion that Carrie wore on a stroll with Seema through Washington Square Park in the premiere.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2025

The crowd in the dining room was a mix of older and younger, but most people were dressed on the preppy side in gingham and Ralph Lauren.

From Slate • Nov. 2, 2024

If so, you might remember classmates who constructed move-in ready mini kingdoms kitted out with gingham curtains, clothespin people and actual pieces of spaghetti.

From New York Times • Apr. 1, 2024

Robbie arrived at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on April 25 wearing a pink and white gingham Prada miniskirt with a matching bralette.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2023

A bill from El Gallo for seven yards of gingham, a girl’s fabric.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez