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Synonyms

smocking

American  
[smok-ing] / ˈsmɒk ɪŋ /

noun

  1. smocked needlework.

  2. embroidery stitches used to hold gathered cloth in even folds.

smocking British  
/ ˈsmɒkɪŋ /

noun

  1. ornamental needlework used to gather and stitch material in a honeycomb pattern so that the part below the gathers hangs in even folds

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of smocking

First recorded in 1885–90; smock + -ing 1

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.

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

A lot of that smocking wall is built.

From Salon • Dec. 12, 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.