leotard
Americannoun
noun
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a tight-fitting garment covering the body from the shoulders down to the thighs and worn by acrobats, ballet dancers, etc
-
(plural) another name for tights
Etymology
Origin of leotard
1915–20; named after Jules Léotard, 19th-century French aerialist
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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.
Vocabulary lists containing leotard
You Name It: Eponyms
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Curtain Call: Dance and Theater Terms
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2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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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.
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
One is familiar and increasingly specific: a good leotard, fleece-lined tights, an extra water bottle, Band-Aids for blisters, putty-colored flats for barre, a pair of low, strappy heels for salsa.
From Salon • Jan. 1, 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
And during her On The Run II tour with husband Jay-Z in 2018, a moving platform broke, forcing Beyoncé to climb down a ladder - in heels and a sequined leotard, no less.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2025
My leotard barely stretched over my protruding belly and my thighs touched no matter how hard I begged them not to.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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.
