lapel
Americannoun
-
lapels
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of lapel
Explanation
A lapel is the front part of a jacket or suit coat that's folded back. Your jacket's lapel is connected to your collar. Fancy or dressy men's clothing tends to have lapels — the tuxedo you wear to your uncle's wedding might have a satin lapel, for example. The suits that businessmen (and often women) wear also have lapels. Lapels come in different shapes and widths, although they almost always have a buttonhole on the left side, originally intended for wearing a flower. These days only prom- and wedding-goers tend to stick a flower in their lapel.
Vocabulary lists containing lapel
Fallen Angels
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Nine Stories
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All My Sons
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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:
Massie is a throwback libertarian who, in lieu of the standard lawmaker flag pin, wears on his lapel a national debt clock that he programmed himself.
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
With Trump’s planned attendance Saturday night at the Washington Hilton, some reporters have said they’ll wear pocket handkerchiefs or lapel pins prominently displaying the words of the First Amendment.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
In portraits in homes and classrooms, in photographs on the front page of the country’s main party newspaper, on lapel badges pinned over citizens’ hearts, Kim’s image became synonymous with the state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Bee devices are worn on the wrist, belt or lapel, and primarily function as an assistant by taking notes, offering reminders and keeping calendars.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
He passed the Lady Mayoress, standing on a corner, and as he watched, she reached out and pinned a little white flower to the lapel of a passing businessman.
From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman
When he won the Fields Medal last week, Jacob Tsimerman accepted the most prestigious honor in math wearing a powder-blue tuxedo with satin lapels.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
He became a fixture on television news, wearing either military style tactical gear or a long, double-breasted green overcoat with wide lapels that critics said was meant to echo Nazi German military garb.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
Before the Grammy ceremony started, the topic was on the lips – and lapels – of many on the red carpet.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026
For each decade, extract the essential silhouette and then distinguish the characters with collars, colors, lapels, fabrics and the occasional really great sweater.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
Like some of the guests, he wore striped trousers and a swallow-tail coat with black-braided lapels topped by a rich ascot tie.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
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.
