poncho

American  

[pon-choh] / ˈpɒn tʃoʊ /

noun

plural

ponchos

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

---

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

---

Other Word Forms

• ponchoed adjective

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”

Example Sentences

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

From Barron's • Oct. 28, 2025

Per Audun Heskestad looks as fresh as a 69-year-old in a soggy blue poncho can.

From BBC • Oct. 8, 2024

“When we first came here, in ’64, I was dressed up in a poncho with a holster and a toy gun,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2024

Think of Clint Eastwood’s the Man With No Name without a poncho or a nose, and you get an idea of the Ghoul’s look.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2024

So I put on my own poncho, pulled up the hood, and headed out into the gray.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk