pullover
Americannoun
-
pullovers
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pullover
First recorded in 1870–75; noun, adj. use of verb phrase pull over
Explanation
A pullover is a sweater or sweatshirt that you put on over your head. Don't forget your wool pullover — it's cold outside! You can refer to a jacket as a pullover if you put it on by pulling it over your head, rather than zipping or buttoning it up. The same goes for any other garment, no matter its materials. Pulling it on over your head makes it qualify as a pullover. Originally, a pullover was a type of shoe, and today it's still the name for a shoe prototype, a sample used by shoemakers to check the fit.
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:
When Kyle and his brother acquired some Ford and Chevrolet dealerships two years ago, Randy refused to wear the new family-branded pullover that also bore the logos of Chrysler’s longtime rivals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
For years, I’d eaten one after almost every figure skating practice, usually sitting in the front seat of the car still sweating through a fleece pullover.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2025
Another episode had him spoofing former NFL coach Bill Belichick’s viral interview with CBS Sunday Morning — Kind sported a tattered pullover sweatshirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2025
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz put a pullover over his suit; "a sign he's in it for the long haul," an EU diplomat told me.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2023
I wore a black skirt with a matching hooded pullover.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
Now swarms scour vintage stores hunting for Coach purses, Champion sweatshirts and Ralph Lauren pullovers popular in the 1990s, as well as vintage Levi’s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
In 1987, David Letterman was taping his late-night show in Las Vegas before rowdy audiences of mostly young men in preppy pullovers and muscle shirts — prototypical bros raised on “Porky’s.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2024
And by the way, as pullovers go, it was a positive experience.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2023
Close by was a display of $27.50 Sofia Jeans for women, from its collaboration with Vergara, along with Reebok shorts and pullovers.
From Reuters ● Jun. 15, 2023
Miss Spink was bundled up in pullovers and cardigans, so she seemed more small and circular than ever.
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
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.
