leotard

American  

[lee-uh-tahrd] / ˈli əˌtɑrd /

noun

1. a skintight, one-piece garment for the torso, having a high or low neck, long or short sleeves, and a lower portion resembling either briefs or tights, worn by acrobats, dancers, etc.

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leotard British  

/ ˈlɪəˌtɑːd /

noun

1. a tight-fitting garment covering the body from the shoulders down to the thighs and worn by acrobats, ballet dancers, etc

2. (plural) another name for tights

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Etymology

Origin of leotard

1915–20; named after Jules Léotard, 19th-century French aerialist

Compare meaning

How does leotard compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• unitard vs. leotard

Explanation

The tight, stretchy, one-piece garment that gymnasts and dancers wear is called a leotard. If you take a ballet class, you may wear a leotard and tights. Leotards are worn by performers and athletes of many types, including figure skaters, ballerinas, acrobats, superheroes, aerobics instructors, and more. While a leotard leaves the legs bare, a unitard covers the legs as well. The French acrobat Jules Léotard is credited with inventing the leotard, although he called it a maillot. The leotard came to be named for Léotard in 1886, long after his death.

Example Sentences

Poised on a colorful, carpeted platform in a gleaming leotard, with a hefty brown braid of hair falling over one shoulder, Folan would spend her program reaching, bending, breathing and twisting her limbs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026

“In six years of showgirling, this has been my worst summer,” said a different young woman, this one dressed in a purple leotard.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025

She said she stuck out next to all her other classmates who “were wearing the same leotard, in the same color, with perfectly pulled back hair, pink tights and so on.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2024

While the Nike leotard is egregiously sparse, it’s important to note that there are more than 25 style combinations for female athletes, a fact that many people outside the running community are not aware of.

From Salon • Apr. 22, 2024

She wore a long-sleeved leotard, with a big plume of peacock feathers fanning out from her butt area, studded with glittering blue and green sequins and trailing black-sequined feather boas from her wrists.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Related Words

• hosiery
• pantyhose