wool

American  

[wool] / wʊl /

noun

1. the fine, soft, curly hair that forms the fleece of sheep and certain other animals, characterized by minute, overlapping surface scales that give it its felting property.

2. fabrics and garments of such wool.

3. yarn made of such wool.

4. any of various substances used commercially as substitutes for the wool of sheep or other animals.

5. any of certain vegetable fibers, as cotton or flax, used as wool, especially after preparation by special process vegetable wool.

6. any finely fibrous or filamentous matter suggestive of the wool of sheep.

   glass wool; steel wool.

7. any coating of short, fine hairs or hairlike processes, as on a caterpillar or a plant; pubescence.

8. Informal. the human hair, especially when short, thick, and crisp.

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idioms

1. dyed in the wool, inveterate; confirmed.

   a dyed in the wool sinner.

2. pull the wool over someone's eyes, to deceive or delude someone.

   The boy thought that by hiding the broken dish he could pull the wool over his mother's eyes.

3. all wool and a yard wide, genuine; excellent; sincere.

   He was a real friend, all wool and a yard wide.

wool British  

/ wʊl /

noun

1. the outer coat of sheep, yaks, etc, which consists of short curly hairs

2. yarn spun from the coat of sheep, etc, used in weaving, knitting, etc

3. 1. cloth or a garment made from this yarn

   2. ( as modifier )

      a wool dress

4. any of certain fibrous materials

   glass wool

   steel wool

5. informal short thick curly hair

6. a tangled mass of soft fine hairs that occurs in certain plants

7. confirmed in one's beliefs or opinions

8. to deceive or delude someone

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wool More Idioms  

1. see all wool and a yard wide; pull the wool over someone's eyes.

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Other Word Forms

• nonwool adjective
• wool-like adjective
• woollike adjective

Etymology

Origin of wool

before 900; Middle English wolle, Old English wull ( e ), cognate with Dutch wol, German Wolle, Old Norse ull, Gothic wulla; akin to Latin lāna, Sanskrit ūrṇā, Welsh gwlân wool, Latin vellus fleece, Greek oúlos woolly

Example Sentences

He wore the dress uniform of the US Navy, blue wool cutaway coat with two rows of gilt buttons.

From Literature

But Handsome thought that Duane said “a hair” —H-A-I-R—“emergency” that involved filaments such as fur or fuzz or wool or whatever grows off one’s skin.

From Literature

I only knew what one looked like because the miller’s daughter had a spinning wheel and she would spin people’s wool for some extra gold or some of their rations.

From Literature

That, in turn, has improved the wool produced by the sheep.

From Barron's

Tucked into a pocket, the muslin pouch has kept my wool winter overcoat smelling fresh—and reminding me of Paris—all season.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cashmere
• fleece
• fur
• hair
• mohair
• tweed
• yarn