gown
Americannoun
-
gowns
plural
-
a woman's dress or robe, especially one that is full-length.
- Synonyms:
- frock
-
a loose, flowing outer garment in any of various forms, worn by a man or woman as distinctive of office, profession, or status.
an academic gown.
-
the student and teaching body in a university or college town.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
any of various outer garments, such as a woman's elegant or formal dress, a dressing robe, or a protective garment, esp one worn by surgeons during operations
-
a loose wide garment indicating status, such as worn by academics
-
the members of a university as opposed to the other residents of the university town Compare town
verb
Synonym Usage
See dress.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gown
1300–50; Middle English goune < Old French < Late Latin gunna fur or leather garment
Explanation
A gown is a formal dress. When your date to a party or dance is wearing a tuxedo, you'll probably want to wear a gown. There are many different kinds of gowns, including ball gowns, wedding gowns, and evening gowns. All of them are worn primarily by women on formal occasions. It was once common to call any one-piece woman's garment a gown, while now it's more often called a dress. The source of gown is the Old French goune, "robe, coat, or down," with the Latin root gunna, "hide or skin."
Vocabulary lists containing gown
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:
She wants to spread the message about Ippolito’s mother’s missing wedding dress in the hope that the gown will be returned to them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
They taught growing girls the timetable of dress—nightgown and wrapper; day dress and visiting; tea gown, dinner dress and evening gown—and gave them hands-on training with a wee wardrobe, which they often sewed themselves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026
Both were broke, and she told the Charlotte Observer she had to borrow a wedding gown when they married in 1988.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
A piece of African fabric bought at the Barbes market in Paris was one starting point, as was his decision to start wearing his night gown outside in the street during this summer's searing heatwaves.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
He was dressed in a cap and gown like people wear when they are graduating.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
It’s all stilettos and tuxes and gowns and pricey surgery and shiny tuxedo loafers in there, and in the White House.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
But you can let people see that you’ve evolved — that you wear gowns now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
We were surprised to find gorgeous gowns under $2,000 at Anthropologie, for example.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Of course, there were gowns that the A-list Hollywood talent could easily wear to red carpet events.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
I kind of wished the little gowns and lacy caps could stay here in the bureau.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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