hat
Americannoun
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hats
plural
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a shaped covering for the head, usually with a crown and brim, especially for wear outdoors.
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Roman Catholic Church.
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the distinctive head covering of a cardinal.
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the office or dignity of a cardinal.
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verb (used with object)
idioms
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wear two / several hats, to function in more than one capacity; fill two or more positions.
He wears two hats, serving as the company's comptroller as well as its chief executive officer.
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take off one's hat to, to express high regard for; praise.
We took off our hats to their courage and daring.
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talk through one's hat, to speak without knowing the facts; make unsupported or incorrect statements.
He is talking through his hat when he says he'll make the team.
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throw / toss one's hat in the ring, to become a participant in a contest, especially to declare one's candidacy for political office.
His friends are urging him to throw his hat in the ring.
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under one's hat, confidential; private; secret.
I'll tell you the real story, but keep it under your hat.
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hat in hand, humbly; respectfully.
He approached the boss, hat in hand.
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pass the hat, to ask for contributions of money, as for charity; take up a collection.
The lodge members passed the hat to send underprivileged children to summer camp.
noun
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any of various head coverings, esp one with a brim and a shaped crown
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( in combination )
hatrack
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informal a role or capacity
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without hesitation or delay
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informal I will be greatly surprised if (something that proves me wrong) happens
I'll eat my hat if this book comes out late
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humbly or servilely
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to keep something secret
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informal (interjection)
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my word! my goodness!
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nonsense!
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something stale or old-fashioned
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as if by magic
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at random
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to collect money, as for a cause
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to admire or congratulate
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to talk foolishly
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to deceive or bluff
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to give up all hope of getting or achieving something
you can throw your hat at it now
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to announce one's intentions to be a candidate or contestant
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hat
before 900; Middle English; Old English hætt; cognate with Old Norse hǫttr hood; akin to hood 1
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:
His third-most-popular TikTok video is from July Fourth, when he danced around in his trademark black V-neck and American-flag cowboy hat, lipsyncing to Taylor Swift.
From Slate ● Oct. 27, 2026
What do you think the hat says about your approach to comedy?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Nuclear experts say they don’t have safety concerns about having reactors at sea because the technology is old hat in the military.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Roberto Carlos carefully carves a skull adorned with an elegant hat into a wad of deep purple paper 50 sheets deep.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
An old man in a cowboy hat with an eagle feather on it eases himself out of a truck.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
"When we started to look at them we did notice some very strange shipments of goods - a container load of hats to Switzerland seemed odd because they were actually Swiss hats," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
The coaches on both sidelines wore Orange County Fire Authority hats as a token of gratitude.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
What has emerged instead is a Brazil of “cowboy hats and big belt buckles, megachurches, malls,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
She has also introduced some changes, like taking away hats from the designs.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Aunt Kitty stood beside Mr. Bangs, who was holding various hats above her head to determine which worked best with her gray disguise.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
“My absolute favorite is Ca Com, the banh mi shop from the Anchovy team. They break down whole pigs in their hatted kitchen next door to make the jungle sausage in my favorite order.”
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2025
I wish we had a better shot of the gloriously hatted cast of “The Gilded Age,” but one must play the hand one is dealt.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 5, 2023
Otherwise he doesn't remember much, "except that she was small, pleated skirt, hatted, didn't say much".
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2022
Similarly hatted volunteers interviewed angry street vendors about their travails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2022
Aunt Tess is probably among them, hatted and gloved, waving a sign that would have embarrassed my parents.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Who's looked death in the face many a time without hatting an eye.
From Time Magazine Archive
Officials also point out that another EA-6B squadron in Italy last year apparently videotaped some of its own flat hatting.
From Time Magazine Archive
And all the 35 EA-6B flyers interviewed said they had never heard of anyone flying too low, too fast or doing improper stunts--what Marine pilots call "flat hatting."
From Time Magazine Archive
Reddy could not conceive a hat manufactory as a favourable nursery for romance; but as the lady praised his song, he listened complacently to her hatting.
From Handy Andy, Volume One A Tale of Irish Life, in Two Volumes by Samuel Lover
Did your husband fail, when he gave up the hatting business?
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
