kimono
Americannoun
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kimonos
plural
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a loose, wide-sleeved robe, fastened at the waist with a wide sash, characteristic of Japanese costume.
-
a woman's loose dressing gown.
noun
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a loose sashed ankle-length garment with wide sleeves, worn in Japan
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any garment copied from this
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of kimono
1885–90; < Japanese: clothing, garb, equivalent to ki wear + mono thing
Explanation
A kimono is a lightweight Japanese robe. You might buy a kimono as a gift for your mom when you travel to Tokyo. A traditional kimono is nearly floor length, loose-fitting and with very wide sleeves. The cloth belt that ties around the waist of a kimono is called an obi. Both men and women wear kimonos, though they're more frequently worn by women. The word kimono literally means "a thing to wear" or "a thing to put on," from the Japanese roots ki, "wear," and mono, "thing."
Vocabulary lists containing kimono
East Asia - Middle School
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East Asia - Introductory
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East Asia - High School
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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:
Osaka said she preferred to "shake things up" when asked if she would wear the kimono before her other matches at Wimbledon, with Russian Anastasia Gasanova up next.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Japan's four-time major winner paid tribute to her nation's culture by arriving for her opening match at the All England Club in an elegant, full-length kimono, entirely white to adhere to the tournament's rules.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
The titular “hare with the amber eyes” in Edmund de Waal’s memoir is a netsuke, a tiny Japanese carving intended as a fastener for use with a kimono.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
Anderson asked him if would play a karate instructor and sent him a photo of a tiger... in a martial arts kimono.
From Barron's ● Mar. 9, 2026
She gazed lovingly at the potato, as if that’s what she was thanking, then hid it somewhere under her kimono before turning and leaving, walking directly toward a wooded area.
From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata
She enjoys tea ceremonies, wearing kimonos and visiting shrines and temples, according to her official profile page.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
Dressed in sky blue kimonos emblazoned with flowers, the dancers twist and twirl in unison in front of hundreds of spectators eager to see the annual "Miyako Odori" in the nation's spectacular ancient capital.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
He took two kimonos with him to Nova, according to his brother.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2025
They won’t let her wear all her fabulous flowy dresses and kimonos in the hospital, which is a loss.
From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2025
She had brought along her pottery, her silver, heirlooms like the kimonos Granny had brought from Japan, tea sets, lacquered tables, and one fine old set of china, blue and white porcelain, almost translucent.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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.
