lingerie
Americannoun
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underwear, sleepwear, and other items of intimate apparel worn by women.
-
Archaic. linen goods in general.
adjective
noun
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women's underwear and nightwear
-
archaic linen goods collectively
Etymology
Origin of lingerie
First recorded in 1825–35; from French, from Middle French linge “linen” (from Latin līneus “flaxen”; line 1 ) + -erie -ery
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.
“I work in fashion, where vanity is very high,” said Auth, 33, a senior account manager for Wolford, a luxury lingerie and hosiery brand.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Tyra Banks, who retired from the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway in 2005, closes out the rebranded lingerie show, which returned after a six-year break.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026
Baroness Mone, best known for founding the lingerie company Ultimo, admitted that millions of pounds from those profits were put into a trust from which she and her children stood to benefit.
From BBC • Nov. 5, 2025
Victoria’s Secret Chief Executive Hillary Super took over last fall after stints at lingerie competitor Savage X Fenty and apparel retailer Anthropologie.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
How do I explain that the underwear, lingerie, and key are my sister’s?
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
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.
