jacket
Americannoun
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a short coat, in any of various forms, usually opening down the front.
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something designed to be placed around the upper part of the body for a specific purpose other than use as clothing.
a life jacket.
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a protective outer covering.
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the skin of a potato, especially when it has been cooked.
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the cover of a paperbound book, usually bearing an illustration.
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a paper or cardboard envelope for protecting a phonograph record.
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a metal casing, as the steel covering of a cannon, the steel cover around the core of a bullet, or the water jacket on certain types of machine guns.
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a folded paper or open envelope containing an official document.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a short coat, esp one that is hip-length and has a front opening and sleeves
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something that resembles this or is designed to be worn around the upper part of the body
a life jacket
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any exterior covering or casing, such as the insulating cover of a boiler
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the part of the cylinder block of an internal-combustion engine that encloses the coolant
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See dust jacket
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the skin of a baked potato
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( as modifier )
jacket potatoes
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a metal casing used in certain types of ammunition
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Brit name: sleeve. a cover to protect a gramophone record
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a folder or envelope to hold documents
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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underjacketnoun
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jacket-likeadjective
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jacketedadjective
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jacketlessadjective
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jacketlikeadjective
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unjacketedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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jacketsimple
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jacketssimple
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have jacketedperfect
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has jacketedperfect
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am jacketingprogressive
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are jacketingprogressive
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is jacketingprogressive
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have been jacketingperfect progressive
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has been jacketingperfect progressive
Past
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jacketedsimple
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had jacketedperfect
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was jacketingprogressive
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were jacketingprogressive
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had been jacketingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of jacket
1425–75; late Middle English jaket < Middle French ja ( c ) quet, equivalent to jaque jack 4 + -et -et
Explanation
A jacket is a lightweight or cropped coat. Most jackets end at your waist or hips, while coats can be much longer. If you have outerwear made of denim or leather, feel free to call them jackets. Jackets are generally long-sleeved and fasten with zippers, snaps, or buttons down the front. Other meanings of jacket generally include the sense of "outer covering," like a book jacket or the insulating jacket around your house's pipes. The word comes from the Middle French jaquet, "short coat with sleeves," from the Old French jacque, "tunic."
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:
Their daughters ran to a cafe to retrieve the life jacket and flotation ring used by Craig, who said: "I think the floating devices have to be closer to the front of the shore."
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
That said, he did swap his trademark dark T-Shirt and jacket for a suit and tie, although he has maintained his regular output of casual, selfie-led videos on his social media channels.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
With her long hair tied back in a ponytail, a white top, beige jacket and wide-legged jeans, she stands out in an industry dominated by men in suits.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
He appeared in a dark suit jacket seated with his attorneys at the defense table.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
He’s wearing the same navy jacket as the other agents milling about, but his rust-colored beard and wrinkled forehead are way too familiar.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Publishers deliberately design jackets and covers that will pop on Instagram and #BookTok.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
The Lagos government acquired a huge stockpile of life jackets, which it distributed to boat operators.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
He says that after one accident which claimed around 13 lives, the government pledged to supply more life jackets.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The ship was equipped with 250 life jackets, two lifeboats and six inflatable rafts, Edghill said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
They were not two wolves, as he had thought at first, but two Huntsmen in jackets of wolf pelts.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
A slightly overcast sky for the first race eventually gave way to sunshine, warming the mostly jacketed crowd announced at 37,143.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2023
At Hazelwood, on the shores of Lough Gill, I walked through a Jurassic-like forest of bramble, sedge and fern, and trees jacketed in soft moss.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2022
Shooting a 160-grain jacketed bullet at almost 2,000 feet per second, it was a speed demon at the time.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 14, 2020
These bullets are often jacketed by a harder metal like copper or steel.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2018
Surely not, he thought; though he could barely move, jacketed as he was to his seat by the wind.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
The students have been asked to design a new fabric to be used for menswear sport jacketing.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2023
Book jackets so seldom reflect the nature of what they are jacketing that Philippe Halsman's photo for this collection of Author Moravia's short stories deserves attention.
From Time Magazine Archive
In jacketing vessels, to prevent draughts, care must be taken that the jackets do not cause currents of cold air to rise rapidly up the sides of the vessel, and so cool it.
From Scientific American Supplement, No. 430, March 29, 1884 by Various
It has the advantage over methods of lagging or jacketing that the manure can be thrown over any pipe, water-seal, washing apparatus, &c., even if the plant is constructed in several separate items.
From Acetylene, the Principles of Its Generation and Use A Practical Handbook on the Production, Purification, and Subsequent Treatment of Acetylene for the Development of Light, Heat, and Power by Leeds, F. H. (Frank Henley)
It was really an offence to me when the jacketing ceased.
From The Jacket (Star-Rover) by London, Jack
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.
