nightgown
Americannoun
-
another name for nightdress
-
a man's nightshirt
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of nightgown
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at night, gown
Explanation
A nightgown is basically a comfy dress you wear for sleeping. Some people prefer pajamas, while others like nightgowns better. Nightgowns are typically worn by women and girls, although they are closely related to nightshirts, which have long been considered appropriate night wear for people of any gender. Nightgowns often have pretty details like embroidery or lace, and they're made of cotton, silk, or nylon. The word nightgown dates from about 1400.
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:
The babydoll itself debuted in the 1940s as a nightgown whose abbreviated length was the result of war-rationed fabric.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
After nine hours at the hospital, I got dressed in the only piece of clothing I had with me: my nightgown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2024
My aunts had changed her into a pink nightgown, placed a scarf around her head, and folded her arms across her chest, a rosary and crucifix clasped in her hands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2023
He then asked her about her arrest, which he said she had claimed saw her being led away from her home in a nightgown.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2023
In wintertime it would be quite dark when he climbed from his bed made out of the cigarette box, and he sometimes shivered with cold as he stood in his nightgown doing his exercises.
From "Stuart Little" by E.B. White
Harrowing footage captured seniors fleeing in nightgowns, as others were pushed down the street in wheelchairs and hospital beds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2025
This is the movie responsible for putting “Sleepless in Seattle” nightgowns in airport souvenir stores.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2022
Only the closet full of flowing Victorian nightgowns and Gunne Sax-style dresses in white and cream seems organized.
From New York Times ● May 11, 2022
The dresses of "Bridgerton" look like comfy nightgowns compared to the frothy, highly-structured clothes of "The Gilded Age," where many female characters resemble wedding cakes.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2022
The most panicked are wearing nothing but nightgowns and slippers, while the more prepared are heavily bundled in layers of clothes.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
