gingham

American  

[ging-uhm] / ˈgɪŋ əm /

noun

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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of gingham

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

Example Sentences

In the guest room, a wall hanging composed of three separate weavings in a gingham check pattern is embroidered with a series of characters she based on her 5-year-old granddaughter’s drawings.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 23, 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

Appearing in public for the first time in weeks, the 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter stood in a defendant’s glass cage in Moscow City Court, wearing blue jeans and a navy blue gingham checked shirt.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 17, 2023

The next morning, he went to a dry-goods store on Hester Street and bought a hundred yards of gingham and fifty yards of white crossbar.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell