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

“There’s conveniently an aperture for the leash to come out,” she added of the poncho.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

But the road wasn’t silent—trekking poles clicking against stone, rain snapping against my poncho, the slide of rocks under my shoes and the chorus of “buen camino.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

One soldier aided an older woman, her body wrapped in a poncho as the clouds thickened above.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025

Kudos to costumer Lien See Leong for outfitting McMahon in a hooded terry cloth poncho that makes him look like Jesus walked across the water to hang ten.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2025

She helped me pull the trash bag over my head after I tore holes in it so I could wear it like a poncho.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Pedestrians in plastic rain ponchos trudged through murky floodwaters in Bangkok's east -- knee-deep in some areas of a grocery store parking lot -- floating their belongings in plastic tubs alongside them, AFP journalists saw.

From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026

"I just hope that the Kates and Cathys have got their thermals and their rain ponchos because they might need them."

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

"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

Dicey picked out a one-quart aluminum saucepan, four ponchos in children’s sizes, a packet of hooks and the smallest, lightest reel of fishing line she could find.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

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