Ulster
noun
a former province in Ireland, now comprising Northern Ireland and a part of the Republic of Ireland.
Ulster
American
[uhl-ster]
/ ˈʌl stər /
noun
-
a former province in Ireland, now comprising Northern Ireland and a part of the Republic of Ireland.
-
a province in N Republic of Ireland. 3,123 sq. mi. (8,090 sq. km).
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Informal. Northern Ireland.
-
(lowercase) a long, loose, heavy overcoat, originally of Irish frieze, now also of any of various other woolen cloths.
Ulster
1
British
/ ˈʌlstə /
noun
-
a province and former kingdom of N Ireland: passed to the English Crown in 1461; confiscated land given to English and Scottish Protestant settlers in the 17th century, giving rise to serious long-term conflict; partitioned in 1921, six counties forming Northern Ireland and three counties joining the Republic of Ireland. Pop (three Ulster counties of the Republic of Ireland): 46 714 (2002); (six Ulster counties of Northern Ireland): 1 702 628 (2003 est). Area (Republic of Ireland): 8013 sq km (3094 sq miles); (Northern Ireland): 14 121 sq km (5452 sq miles)
-
an informal name for Northern Ireland
ulster
2
British
/ ˈʌlstə /
noun
Ulster
Cultural
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ulster
C19: so called because it was first produced in Northern Ireland
Explanation
An ulster is a long coat that was commonly worn in Victorian Britain. The overcoat that Sherlock Holmes usually wears in photos, movies, and TV shows is a good example of an ulster. This long, sturdy coat often has an attached cape and a belt, although more modern versions tend to omit the cape. These days, you're most likely to get a glimpse of an ulster on a period drama, like the TV series Sherlock or a filmed version of a Charles Dickens novel. The ulster wasn't a dressy type of outerwear; it was meant for a working man. The word comes from the name of the Irish province, Ulster, where these coats were originally made.
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:
Other party members including former MP Lord McCrea and Mid Ulster councillor Clement Cuthbertson have also backed Lockhart.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Civil service pay is aligned with the budget period, he told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Gilbert first attended the Ulster Hospital in October 1997 for a prosthetic ear and over the past 29 years has had artificial ears made, repaired and adapted.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
The DUP leader Gavin Robinson told Good Morning Ulster: "When somebody breaks the law they should be punished for breaking the law."
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
In the early eighteenth century, large numbers of these Ulster Scots—or Scotch-Irish, as they called themselves—and their descendants pulled up stakes and crossed the Atlantic to the British colonies there.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Despite the cluckings of his doctors, George V wrapped himself in a thick ulster and went down to cold, wet Newmarket Heath last week for the Cambridgeshire.
From Time Magazine Archive
Square-jawed Stanley Baldwin in a billowing grey ulster and a bullet-hard bowler hat motored to Windsor Castle early last week to kiss the King's hand, resign as Prime Minister of Great Britain.
From Time Magazine Archive
A figure, muffled to the eyes in an ulster, slouched out of the blur.
From Time Magazine Archive
Moreover I have on my desk a Brooks Brothers catalog, put out in the spring of 1908, with a photograph of a camel's hair ulster as part of its regular ready-made stock.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was Gatsby's father, a solemn old man very helpless and dismayed, bundled up in a long cheap ulster against the warm September day.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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