tulle
noun
a thin, fine, machine-made net of acetate, nylon, rayon, or silk.
tulle
1 American
[tool, ty l]
/ tul, tül /
noun
Tulle
2
American
[tool, ty l]
/ tul, tül /
noun
tulle
British
/ tjuːl /
noun
Etymology
Origin of tulle
1810–20; < French, after Tulle, France, where first made
Explanation
Tulle is a type of fabric that's a stiff, fine netting and is often used to make gowns and wedding veils. Any dress for a formal occasion — a wedding, a bat mitzvah, a quinceañera — might have a tulle skirt. Tulle is most often made of manmade fibers like polyester or nylon, but it can also be made from silk. It comes in just about every color, and it's commonly used in wedding dresses and ballet tutus. The word tulle comes from the name of the French town where the fabric was originally made in 1817, Tulle.
Vocabulary lists containing tulle
On Trend: Fashionable Words
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The Distance Between Us
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Vocabulary from poems by Emily Dickinson
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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 38-year-old engineer said it was her husband's idea to bring Luna -- who dressed for the occasion in a pink tulle gown.
From Barron's ● Jul. 12, 2026
Soprano Gabriella Reyes brought both menace and comedy to Catrina, tossing off her coloratura laughter and rocking her costume of silvery bones painted on black and swathed in tulle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026
The tutu — it’s a tulle skirt, actually – was Field’s way of presenting an alternative to sweatpants.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025
It seems many Hollywood stars this year were feeling empowered as chiffon, lace and tulle were in plentiful supply at the Oscars.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2025
There are lush pink peonies, their petals delicately ruffled, like the folds of a tulle tutu.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Tulle wrapped over knitwear, encasing it mummy like.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2023
Tulle was used for complete looks as well as embellishment, along with lace, silks and hand embroidery.
From Reuters ● Feb. 13, 2023
However, following a judicial review into her death, Marie-Sophie Waguette, head of jurisdiction at the Palais de Justice in Tulle, said there was "no evidence to show that they were negligent".
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2022
Tulle, as seen in her ballerina skirt at the U.S.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 29, 2022
I sat next to Monsieur de Tulle, Madame Colbert and the Duke of Monmouth, who is as handsome as when we saw him at the palais royal.
From The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. VII (of X)—Continental Europe I by Henry Cabot Lodge
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.
