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
Livingwater also got a hoop skirt to go under the dress, just like Cooke wore her dress 50 years before, which helped show off the detailing and bows on the ballgown.
From Fox News ● Nov. 30, 2021
On class picture day I chose my fanciest dress with a hoop skirt.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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.
