sari

American  

[sahr-ee] / ˈsɑr i /

Or saree

noun

plural

saris

1. a garment worn by Hindu women, consisting of a long piece of cotton or silk wrapped around the body with one end draped over the head or over one shoulder.

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sari British  

/ ˈsɑːrɪ /

noun

1. the traditional dress of women of India, Pakistan, etc, consisting of a very long narrow piece of cloth elaborately swathed around the body

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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."

Example Sentences

She spilled Coke on her sari and figured her clumsiness would doom the engagement.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 25, 2025

Harjit Kaur, who lives in Hercules city in the San Francisco Bay Area, was working as a seamstress at a sari store for the past two decades and pays her taxes.

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2025

At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Gucci described a sari worn by Bollywood star Alia Bhatt as a gown, sparking backlash.

From BBC • Jun. 30, 2025

It’s a comedy about a South Asian teen who rebels against her sister’s arranged marriage with some of the baddest martial arts moves ever performed in a sari.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2024

The sari I had taken from her was soaked with blood and grimy where dust clung to the wet cloth.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya