jacket
Americannoun
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jackets
plural
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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.
-
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.
verb (used with object)
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jackets,
present (3rd person singular)
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jacketed,
past participle, past
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jacketing
present participle
noun
-
a short coat, esp one that is hip-length and has a front opening and sleeves
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something that resembles this or is designed to be worn around the upper part of the body
a 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
-
Brit name: sleeve. a cover to protect a gramophone record
-
a folder or envelope to hold documents
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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underjacketnoun
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jacket-likeadjective
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jacketedadjective
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jacketlessadjective
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jacketlikeadjective
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unjacketedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jacketsimple
-
jacketssimple
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have jacketedperfect
-
has jacketedperfect
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am jacketingprogressive
-
are jacketingprogressive
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is jacketingprogressive
-
have been jacketingperfect progressive
-
has been jacketingperfect progressive
Past
-
jacketedsimple
-
had jacketedperfect
-
was jacketingprogressive
-
were jacketingprogressive
-
had been jacketingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jacket
1425–75; late Middle English jaket < Middle French ja ( c ) quet, equivalent to jaque jack 4 + -et -et
Explanation
A jacket is a lightweight or cropped coat. Most jackets end at your waist or hips, while coats can be much longer. If you have outerwear made of denim or leather, feel free to call them jackets. Jackets are generally long-sleeved and fasten with zippers, snaps, or buttons down the front. Other meanings of jacket generally include the sense of "outer covering," like a book jacket or the insulating jacket around your house's pipes. The word comes from the Middle French jaquet, "short coat with sleeves," from the Old French jacque, "tunic."
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:
Piker kicked off his Wednesday show by talking about his custom-tailored jacket and his bodybuilding workouts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026
The second of these episodes includes the bonus cameo of Chris Farley, trying on a leather jacket several sizes too small for him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
But in that 1967 episode, when she was still an unknown, the only glimmer to behold was embroidered on the host’s jacket.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Weaving together her memory of a childhood jacket her mother made from rags with the biblical tale of Joseph, “Coat” was a statement of identity and purpose.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
She didn’t write notes about me on the lavatory walls, leave slimy things in my jacket pockets, or have her mother call up my mama and discuss my behavior.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
“This is brilliant,” said Joe Sever, 36, a medical sales representative who brought his son and twin daughters, who were wearing matching denim jackets with their names bedazzled on the backs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"Some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets," one young man, Efe Multici, told CNN Turk.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
A Coast Guard investigation found the boat was overloaded and didn’t have any child or infant-sized life jackets when it capsized near the Statue of Liberty at around 10.20 p.m.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
"The life jackets were buried under the luggage, and not more than 30 people managed to get them," said Itayi Marumisa, a trader from Mola village.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
When we need to put our jackets on, we go home, back to pretending that we’re fine, just fine.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
"Everyone who was sort of leather jacketed, leaning against the wall, too cool to dance, started dancing," recalls Pierson.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
Crossing a room, the jacketed general manager paused to hold a wine glass up to a light, making sure it was clean.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2023
At Hazelwood, on the shores of Lough Gill, I walked through a Jurassic-like forest of bramble, sedge and fern, and trees jacketed in soft moss.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2022
Shooting a 160-grain jacketed bullet at almost 2,000 feet per second, it was a speed demon at the time.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 14, 2020
I said what I was against was strait- jacketed thinking, and strait-jacketed societies.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
The students have been asked to design a new fabric to be used for menswear sport jacketing.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2023
Book jackets so seldom reflect the nature of what they are jacketing that Philippe Halsman's photo for this collection of Author Moravia's short stories deserves attention.
From Time Magazine Archive
Bullets differed only in jacketing and the shape of the nose.
From Louisiana Lou A Western Story by William West Winter
It was really an offence to me when the jacketing ceased.
From The Jacket (Star-Rover) by Jack London
The object of jacketing is to prevent the loss of heat from the steam within the cylinder by radiation.
From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose
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.
