waistcoat

American  

[wes-kuht, weyst-koht] / ˈwɛs kət, ˈweɪstˌkoʊt /

noun

waistcoats plural

1. Chiefly British. vest.

2. an 18th-century garment for women that is similar to a man's vest, usually worn with a riding habit.

3. a man's body garment, often quilted and embroidered and having sleeves, worn under the doublet in the 16th and 17th centuries.

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waistcoat British  

/ ˈweɪsˌkəʊt /

noun

1. US, Canadian, and Austral name: vest.  a sleeveless waist-length garment with buttons at the front, often worn under a suit jacket

2. a man's garment worn under a doublet in the 16th century

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underwaistcoat
  noun
• waistcoated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• waistcoats
  plural

Etymology

Origin of waistcoat

First recorded in 1510–20; waist + coat

Explanation

A waistcoat is a piece of clothing most often worn as part of a man's suit — it's the sleeveless garment you wear over a button-up shirt and under a suit jacket. A waistcoat is essentially the same thing as a formal vest. While you might throw on a warm vest to take your dog for a walk, you're more likely to wear a waistcoat if you're an usher in your cousin's wedding. The word dates from the 15th century, when a waistcoat was long-sleeved and worn under a man's doublet, a close-fitting jacket. As the name implies, unlike longer formal coats, waistcoats were cropped at the waist.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

waistcoat waistcoats

Piping on the waistcoat is “a kick” to stand out against judges in black.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

His red coat with black trim, red waistcoat with hand-stitched buttonholes and gold regimental buttons, and white breeches “represent the only complete uniform of the Revolutionary war.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

The 42-year-old sat in the dock of the court in a navy waistcoat and tie and confirmed his name.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2025

A beige T-shirt and waistcoat ensemble looked red carpet-ready with its chicly pleated, arrow-thin assorted tie.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2024

She loved the idea of falling down a rabbit hole, of plummeting into something that she wasn’t expecting, and of course, the idea that a small white rabbit could wear a tiny waistcoat and glasses.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

They arrived in sequins and feather boas; or sometimes in waistcoats and ties.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

"They were wearing helmets and bullet-proof waistcoats marked 'press'."

From Reuters ● Oct. 29, 2023

But some have worn waistcoats with the symbol of Black History Month underneath.

From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2023

In unison, the actors’ transformations occur as they step smartly into buckled shoes and slip from modern dress into the waistcoats designed by Emilio Sosa.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 15, 2022

The music-master was a young man, thin and clean, whose bright silk waistcoats belied the gravity of the rest of his vesture, which was black and brown.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson