poncho

American  

[pon-choh] / ˈpɒn tʃoʊ /

noun

• ponchos
  plural

1. a blanketlike cloak with a hole in the center to admit the head, originating in South America, now often worn as a raincoat.

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poncho British  

/ ˈpɒntʃəʊ /

noun

1. a cloak of a kind originally worn in South America, made of a rectangular or circular piece of cloth, esp wool, with a hole in the middle to put the head through

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ponchoed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ponchos
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of poncho

First recorded in 1710–20; from Latin American Spanish: further origin uncertain; perhaps from Araucanian pontho “woolen fabric”; perhaps from Old Spanish poncho “a mantle or cloak”; perhaps a back formation from ponchón “lazy, sluggish”; perhaps an alteration of unrecorded pochón, an augmentative of pocho “pale, faded,” and probably akin to pachón “phlegmatic, sluggish”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

poncho ponchos

To the pulse of pop music, a Dachshund named Serge went down the catwalk in a woven pink poncho.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

First: a rain poncho for my kid’s bike seat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

"It's crazy," said Javier Maciel, a 25-year-old fan wrapped in a poncho with the colors of the Mexican flag.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

Wearing a clear poncho, he couldn’t be bubblier as he answers questions and generally holds court.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2025

He wasn’t wearing no dress or nothing like that, but he had on some skin-tight black leggings and a black kind-of poncho.

From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore

"We brought the ponchos, we were ready," said Steven Jouan, 32, who had come to Philadelphia from South Carolina with his partner for the game to support France.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

The mood inside the ground has completely changed and fans, wearing ponchos to stay dry, danced in the stands.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Outside Glasgow Green vendors had switched from selling water-proof ponchos on Friday to sunglasses and bottles of water, as the sun beat down on crowds heading towards the event.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

Wearing helmets and ponchos, the protesters, many of whom waved rainbow-colored Indigenous flags, marched toward the city center to the din of firecrackers.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

Maybeth spread out the ponchos under the green trees, as best she could.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

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