worsted
Americannoun
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firmly twisted yarn or thread spun from combed, stapled wool fibers of the same length, for weaving, knitting, etc.
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wool cloth woven from such yarns, having a hard, smooth surface and no nap.
adjective
noun
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a closely twisted yarn or thread made from combed long-staple wool
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a fabric made from this, with a hard smooth close-textured surface and no nap
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(modifier) made of this yarn or fabric
a worsted suit
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of worsted
1250–1300; Middle English worsted ( e ), special use of Worstede Worstead ( Old English Wurthestede ), name of parish in Norfolk, England, where the cloth was 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.
He often mixed silk and wool or silk and linen for a softer alternative to the heavy, stiff gabardines and worsted wools that were typical for men’s suits and jackets.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 4, 2025
Rolls upon rolls of flannel, worsted wool and cashmere are stacked in a space the size of a football field.
From Washington Post • Nov. 20, 2017
Dark gray, worsted wool, jackets with rows of brass.
From The New Yorker • Apr. 3, 2017
She took photographs and wrote poetry; in 1938, The New York Times published her ode to “a day for dreaming in the sun, for telling worsted tales, for languid ease.”
From New York Times • May 26, 2016
The boys were neatly dressed in snow-white shirts, blazers with badges, preppy caps with badges, ties matching the badges, shiny black and brown shoes, worsted knee-high socks.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
