sari
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sari
1570–80; < Hindi sāṛī < Sanskrit śāṭī
Explanation
A sari is a piece of clothing that South Asian women often wear. If you go to a wedding in India, you'll probably see the bride wearing a red silk sari. A sari consists of one very long piece of fabric that's wrapped around the body and draped over a shoulder, and garments worn underneath, including a short-sleeved blouse. The style and fabric of a sari, as well as the way it's worn, varies between different regions and traditions. You can also spell this word saree. It comes from the Hindi sari and the Sanskrit root sati, "garment" or "petticoat."
Vocabulary lists containing sari
English Words Derived from Hindi
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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:
The sari, he says, was chosen also because it has cultural value and that it's visibly easy to identify.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
That sari is now in pride of place in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
"I believe the rituals here bring good things," she says, adjusting her sari.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
"Usually, I feel alone. Here, I see so many like me," says Dhanshika, another member of the community, smiling as she watched friends dressed in their finest sari dresses.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
I felt in my bodice and again in my waistband, I shook out the folds of my sari, but there was no doubt the money was gone.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
The Bacevicius sisters, dressed in silk saris draped and pinned by maids at their hotel, got backstage access at the New Delhi wedding they attended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 8, 2025
Many men wear the traditional knee-length kurtas for special occasions while flowing saris remain the most popular for women.
From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025
Drinking dipped substantially – after three years, by 41% among men and nearly 70% for women – and families had more disposable income: in the first year of prohibition, the sale of saris surged 1,715%.
From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2025
Dressed in their finest saris and suits, his family members boarded a boat to join Mamun, when a heavy storm struck.
From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2023
The heat was intense—faces gleamed ruddy in the firelight, one or two women had drawn their saris across their eyes.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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.
