coiffure
Americannoun
-
coiffures
plural
-
a style of arranging the hair.
-
a head covering; headdress.
verb (used with object)
-
coiffures,
present (3rd person singular)
-
coiffured,
past participle, past
-
coiffuring
present participle
-
to arrange or comb (the hair) in a coiffure; to style (the hair).
-
to provide with a head covering or headdress; cover with a coiffure.
noun
-
a hairstyle
-
an obsolete word for headdress
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
coiffuresimple
-
coiffuressimple
-
have coiffuredperfect
-
has coiffuredperfect
-
am coiffuringprogressive
-
are coiffuringprogressive
-
is coiffuringprogressive
-
have been coiffuringperfect progressive
-
has been coiffuringperfect progressive
Past
-
coiffuredsimple
-
had coiffuredperfect
-
was coiffuringprogressive
-
were coiffuringprogressive
-
had been coiffuringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of coiffure
First recorded in 1625–35; from French, equivalent to coiff(er) “to dress the hair” + -ure noun suffix; see origin at coif 2, -ure
Explanation
Coiffure is a fancy French word for hairdo. If you spend a lot of time working on your coiffure, you spend a lot of time in front of the mirror fixing your hair. The word coiffure originally meant hairstylist, now it means the style. The word implies an elaborate style, not just a regular haircut. A beehive hairdo, for instance, would be rightly called a coiffure. A military-style buzz cut is just a trim. The word can be shortened to coif, but be careful as this word has other meanings as well.
Vocabulary lists containing coiffure
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Shear Genius: Hairy Vocabulary
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Things Fall Apart
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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:
Former opposition lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, better known as Long Hair for his coiffure, once described himself as a “Marxist revolutionary”.
From BBC ● May 29, 2024
But really, hello, Barbie, played by Margot Robbie with a megawatt grin and impeccable coiffure, modeling a black-and-white swimsuit and towering over the primordial landscape on skyscraper legs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2023
Sporting a handsome white coiffure and an inviting tone, Ciscomani spoke warmly about his immigrant parents, the price of milk and eggs, the fight against fentanyl and the accessibility of homeownership.
From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2023
Medusa, the mythological creature with a snake coiffure, is a mascot of Versace.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 12, 2022
Nicole focused on the tub’s label, where a smiling black woman in pearls touched a hand to her shiny-straight coiffure.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
Both pitchers completed their coiffures with an artificial boost this season, adding hair extensions as a means of expressing their individuality.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2022
Like a wry little echo chamber, the curls of paper showcase curls of hair in the same spectrum of tones common to both coiffures and photographic prints.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2019
Ms. Peters’s two works are bronze, hollow-eyed, open-mouthed heads resembling Art Deco versions of archaic Greek sculptures but with exaggerated coiffures adding a weird, surrealistic dimension.
From New York Times ● May 5, 2016
She found a hairstylist to reproduce the Caryatid coiffures and used Fairfield students as models.
From Washington Post ● May 20, 2015
Inspired by asymmetrical Indian coiffures, seventeenth-century London blades wore long, loose hanks of hair known as “lovelocks.”
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Her intricately coiffured head bends over a small pillow; we see her hands holding some small pieces of wood, but not her handiwork.
From New York Times ● Dec. 8, 2022
The telegenic 52-year-old is starting to show faint streaks of gray in his coiffured hair that could turn into a pleasant presidential look when the time comes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2020
It’s been a good career and a conversation starter, with people expressing surprise at her occupation, said Jones, whose blonde hair is softly coiffured and makeup tastefully applied.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 30, 2014
Those who met the immaculately coiffured 52-year-old would often use words like "ebullient", "charismatic" and "affable" to describe the Midlands-born boss.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2014
The old potentate was in his morning gown, freshly bathed, shaved and coiffured and smelling of pomade and cigarette smoke.
From The White Terror and The Red A novel of revolutionary Russia by Abraham Cahan
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.
