an arrangement of a man's hair in which it is brushed up high from the forehead.
an arrangement of a woman's hair in which it is raised over the forehead in a roll, sometimes over a pad.
a pink or crimson color.
Textiles.
any fabric, as cotton or silk, having a design of small pink, blue, and sometimes gold flowers or bouquets on a white background.
a fabric of the color pompadour, used for garments.
First recorded in 1745–55; named after the Marquise de Pompadour
A pompadour is a dramatic hairdo that's swept back from the forehead and worn in a high, rolled style. Elvis Presley was almost as famous for his pompadour as for his music. This iconic hairstyle was originally made popular by a mistress of King Louis XV of France, Madame de Pompadour. Chic 18th-century women wore pompadours, and the style was fashionable again in the late 1800s and then in the 1940s. Movie stars of this last era, from Betty Grable to Bette Davis, frequently sported pompadours. For maximum height, hair would be "ratted," or backcombed, and covered with a swoop of hair on top.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The report shows images of the judge sitting on the bench while donning an Elvis wig with his signature black pompadour and sunglasses.
From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025
In court, Alimouri stood out from his fellow defense attorneys, and not just for his colorful nickname, coined by fans who swooned over his tailored suits, shiny pompadour and oratorical skills.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2024
He looked dapper for his first appearance in a mint green suit and shirt, but donned a blonde pompadour wig and “Death Rock” T-shirt for a second appearance as Beavis with Day’s buck-toothed Butt-Head.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 30, 2024
The “boneco,” as such giant puppets are known in Brazil, wore a bedazzled disco-era turtleneck and suit, with a black pompadour, a la John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever.”
From New York Times • Feb. 13, 2024
Her red hair, arranged in a flat pompadour, would begin to blow out in wisps from her hat.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
