smock
Americannoun
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smocks
plural
verb (used with object)
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smocks,
present (3rd person singular)
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smocked,
past participle, past
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smocking
present participle
-
to clothe in a smock.
-
to draw (a fabric) by needlework into a honeycomb pattern with diamond-shaped recesses.
noun
-
any loose protective garment, worn by artists, laboratory technicians, etc
-
a woman's loose blouse-like garment, reaching to below the waist, worn over slacks, etc
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Also called: smock frock. a loose protective overgarment decorated with smocking, worn formerly esp by farm workers
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archaic a woman's loose undergarment, worn from the 16th to the 18th centuries
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
smocksimple
-
smockssimple
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have smockedperfect
-
has smockedperfect
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am smockingprogressive
-
are smockingprogressive
-
is smockingprogressive
-
have been smockingperfect progressive
-
has been smockingperfect progressive
Past
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smockedsimple
-
had smockedperfect
-
was smockingprogressive
-
were smockingprogressive
-
had been smockingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of smock
before 1000; Middle English (noun), Old English smocc; originally name for a garment with a hole for the head; compare Old Norse smjūga to put on (a garment) over the head
Explanation
A smock is a piece of clothing that's worn to protect the clothes it covers, like an artist's smock or an old-fashioned shepherd's smock. When you wear a smock, you put on a loose, protective garment that resembles an apron with sleeves. When you smock, however, you use a special sewing technique that makes small, decorative pleats or gathers. The Old English root of smock is smoc, "loose-fitting woman's undergarment," which is probably related to the Old English smūgan, "to creep," and the Old Norse smjúga, "to put on or creep into a garment."
Vocabulary lists containing smock
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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:
Get them a gift that matches their path: from a foam roller for the wellness coach to a stylish smock for the aspiring pop-up chef.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
"Unlike kente, which is largely ceremonial, the smock is everyday wear," he said, referring to another form of traditional Ghanian dress worn during major celebrations.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
President Mahama also suggested exporting the smock in bulk to Zambia.
From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2026
There, finally, on the other side of the plexiglass, sat Khalil, swimming in a large blue smock.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
The best reason has to do with a man in a white smock who once spent the night in a closet.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Ghanaians have rushed to defend their colourful handwoven "fugu" smocks after President John Mahama's wearing of the loose-fitting traditional garment on a recent state visit to Zambia caused an online storm.
From Barron's ● Feb. 13, 2026
Until the 1960s smocks were generally worn at school to protect children's clothes from ink stains.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2023
Everything such as smocks, paint, brushes and canvases will be provided.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 16, 2022
We stood at the door, wearing terry-cloth smocks and spa-issued mittens, as Jack explained the process.
From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2021
The footsteps were from a crew of workmen—the men who were supposed to be in white smocks.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
It’s a place where people pause to chat up strangers on oak-and-magnolia-draped streets, a place where boutiques sell smocked baby dresses and shirts with phrases such as “Pearls Are Always Appropriate.”
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
Women similarly wore tiny smocked dresses over bloomers, which men in turn wore over ripped jeans.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2020
The iconic Herrera white shirt is rewritten in a myriad of ways: cropped, ruched, smocked, sleeveless.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2018
Three of Graham’s young grandchildren, two polite sandy-haired girls in smocked sundresses and a boy in a blue blazer, stood by large coolers of water and iced tea, filling glasses.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 11, 2018
She smocked the yoke into tiny crisscrossing puckers, then shirred the rest of the bodice.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Even down to the shape of this smocking and the crystal application and then the dégradé within the cape.
From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2021
Cillizza, Tribe and Karem were not alone among celebrities who jumped on the "smocking gun" bandwagon, with most leaning toward Cillizza's humorous tone.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2018
The latest misspelling came on Wednesday when Trump tried to quote a guest on Fox News, only to type smocking gun when he should have written smoking gun.
From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2018
I counted at least six different needlework techniques—including smocking, pin pleats, and rosettes—that descended from puffed shoulder to netting-frilled wrist.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 12, 2016
And the clothes he would make for her—pink crêpe de Chine frocks with dainty smocking at the yoke and sleeves.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
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.
