wasp waist

American  

noun

1. a woman's slender waistline, especially when the result of tight corseting.

---

wasp waist British  

noun

1. a very slender waist, esp one that is tightly corseted

---

Other Word Forms

• wasp-waisted adjective

Etymology

Origin of wasp waist

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

She is possessed of bottle-blond hair that falls past her shoulders, full lips, a wasp waist and a pair of Cindy Crawford beauty marks just north of her upper lip.

From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2014

That applied also to the tiny wasp waist, caged in, as the designer herself took a bow.

From New York Times • Jul. 2, 2012

Ms. Lovelle, whose wavy brown hair and wasp waist evokes Rita Hayworth, has carved out a character for herself as a pin-up, batting giant yellow feather fans and sewing her own sweeping satin gowns.

From New York Times • Nov. 8, 2011

At 27, red-haired Elinor Sutherland attracted longtime bachelor and coupon-clipper Clayton Glyn with her wasp waist, green eyes, and the social splash she made when four white-tied suitors leaped into a lake at her command.

From Time Magazine Archive

She perched her hands on either side of her enormous middle as if showing off a tiny wasp waist.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood