sweater

American  

[swet-er] / ˈswɛt ər /

noun

• sweaters
  plural

1. a knitted jacket or jersey, in pullover or cardigan style, with or without sleeves.

2. a person or thing that sweats.

3. an employer who underpays and overworks employees.

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adjective

1. of, for, or pertaining to a sweater.

   sweater yarn; sweater fashions.

2. made like a sweater.

   a sweater dress.

sweater British  

/ ˈswɛtə /

noun

1. 1. a garment made of knitted or crocheted material covering the upper part of the body, esp a heavy one worn for warmth

   2. ( as modifier )

      a sweater dress

2. a person or thing that sweats

3. an employer who overworks and underpays his employees

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sweaters
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sweater

1520–30 sweater for def. 2; 1880–85 sweater for def. 1; sweat + -er ¹

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Explanation

A sweater is a knitted piece of clothing that covers the top part of your body. Some people have ugly Christmas sweater contests—and if you wear your neon green reindeer sweater covered with pom-poms, you just might win! In Britain it's a jumper, but in most of North America, it's a sweater. You put on a sweater either by pulling it over your head (if it's a pullover), or by putting your arms in the sleeves and shrugging it onto your shoulders (if it's a cardigan). As you might have guessed, sweater comes from sweat—the earliest sweaters were worn by rowers, and were intended "to produce sweating and reduce weight."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sweater sweaters

"I have a New Zealand All Blacks rugby jersey, and I think of my Jensen sweater in kind of the same way," says New York-based Fratto, who runs a tech start-up.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Ejectees often wear their ties at airshows and other military functions, like a way cooler version of a fraternity sweater.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

She’s in a navy sweater; I’m starting to envy her knitwear.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

On the day of the strike — which was also his 7th birthday — the first-grader wore a blue sweater because of the morning chill.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

Oliver...well, he’d put on a dark sweater and combed his hair.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Knitting is no longer limited to making familiar items such as sweaters, hats, and blankets.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

It plans to start selling its first store-brand cashmere sweaters this fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

When, in 1978, he decided to make bold-colored cashmere sweaters for women, a dye expert said he was “crazy to dye cashmere in these colors.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Many wearing sweaters and thick coats, a reminder of the southern hemisphere winter from where they were coming, walked off the plane into the scorching Nigerian sun.

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

Upstairs, I can hear my uncle moving from dresser to bed and back again and I know he is neatly folding shirts and sweaters into his suitcase.

From "Harbor Me" by Jacqueline Woodson

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