jacket
[jak-it]
- a short coat, in any of various forms, usually opening down the front.
- something designed to be placed around the upper part of the body for a specific purpose other than use as clothing: a life jacket.
- a protective outer covering.
- the skin of a potato, especially when it has been cooked.
- book jacket.
- the cover of a paperbound book, usually bearing an illustration.
- a paper or cardboard envelope for protecting a phonograph record.
- a metal casing, as the steel covering of a cannon, the steel cover around the core of a bullet, or the water jacket on certain types of machine guns.
- a folded paper or open envelope containing an official document.
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- to put a jacket on (someone or something).
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Origin of jacket
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for jacket
Contemporary Examples
I settle for a sweater and jacket and throw a tie in my briefcase just in case it turns out to be the prom.
Micah is 10 years old and he had a coat geared to the season, a Patagonia winter jacket with a hood.
The Wildly Peaceful, Human, Almost Boring, Ultimately Great New York City Protests for Eric GarnerMike Barnicle
December 8, 2014
The jacket and gloves were a precaution in the event the eaglet panicked, but there was little fuss as he tossed the net over her.
On a hot day in Milwaukee once, Palmer quietly asked the assembled admirers, "Mind if I take off my jacket?"
This week, President Obama disembarked from Air Force One while holding his jacket in his left hand and a coffee cup in his right.
Historical Examples
"I'll walk a bit with you," said his sister, donning her jacket and a cap.
The SpendersHarry Leon Wilson
Viviette, coming in later in hat and jacket, found him busily writing.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
Katy's fingers were shaking as she lifted the jacket and Linda slipped into it.
Her Father's DaughterGene Stratton-Porter
The sleeves of her jacket had been torn, and were mended with a material of another colour.
The DreamEmile Zola
Then tapping the breast-pocket of his jacket: “And yet I am the force,” he went on.
The Secret AgentJoseph Conrad
jacket
- a short coat, esp one that is hip-length and has a front opening and sleeves
- something that resembles this or is designed to be worn around the upper part of the bodya life jacket
- any exterior covering or casing, such as the insulating cover of a boiler
- the part of the cylinder block of an internal-combustion engine that encloses the coolant
- See dust jacket
- the skin of a baked potato
- (as modifier)jacket potatoes
- a metal casing used in certain types of ammunition
- US a cover to protect a gramophone recordBrit name: sleeve
- mainly US a folder or envelope to hold documents
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- (tr) to put a jacket on (someone or something)
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Word Origin
C15: from Old French jaquet short jacket, from jacque peasant, from proper name Jacques James
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for jacket
n.
mid-15c., "short garment for men," from Middle French jaquet "short coat with sleeves," diminutive of Old French jaque, a kind of tunic, probably from Jacque, the male proper name, also the generic name of a French peasant (see jacquerie), but possibly associated with jaque (de mailles) "short, tight-fitting coat," originally "coat of mail," from Spanish jaco, from Arabic shakk "breastplate." Iakke "a short, close-fitting stuffed or quilted tunic, often serving as a defensive garment" is attested in English from late 14c., and by c.1400 was being used for "woman's short tunic." Meaning "paper wrapper of a book" is first attested 1894.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
jacket
(jăk′ĭt)- A fixed bandage applied around the body to immobilize the spine.
- An artificial crown of a tooth composed of fired porcelain or acrylic resin.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.