hoop skirt
Americannoun
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a woman's skirt made to stand out and drape in a stiff bell-like shape from the waist by an undergarment framework of flexible hoops connected by tapes.
-
the framework for such a skirt.
Etymology
Origin of hoop skirt
An Americanism dating back to 1855–60
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.
The theatrical Mary may be good for laughs, but other than the hoop skirt and pipe curls, she bears no resemblance to the real Mary, whose life was crowded with tragedy, misfortune and misinterpretation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
Sikander said that sculpture wore a hoop skirt inspired by the stained-glass dome of the courthouse, symbolizing the need to “break the legal glass ceiling.”
From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2023
Her dress and gloves were laid out on the bed; a hoop skirt was nearby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2022
She wore a long-sleeved wedding dress with a hoop skirt that she bought from the still-operational Aliber’s Bridal in Greenfield, Massachusetts, according to Livingwater.
From Fox News ● Nov. 30, 2021
It had been a particularly interesting lesson, since all of us girls had to learn how to take someone down while wearing a gigantic hoop skirt from the 1800s.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
