Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A sleeveless garment similar to an apron, worn especially by small girls as a dress or an overdress.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A sort of apron worn by children to protect the front part of their dress; a child's apron.
Wiktionary
- n. A sleeveless dress, often similar to an apron, generally worn over other clothes. Most often worn by young girls as an overdress.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. An apron for a child to protect the front part of dress; a tier.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a sleeveless dress resembling an apron; worn over other clothing
Etymologies
- From pin + afore. The pinafore was originally pinned to the front of a dress, as it had no buttons. (Wiktionary)
- pin + afore (so called because formerly pinned to the front of the dress). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The dress is silk dupioni and the pinafore is a fine batiste with french lace insertion and embroidery.”
“For those ladies outside of the US, the 'Jumper' is more commonly referred to as a pinafore - most often a garment worn by schoolgirls (hence its virtual non-use by adult women).”
“I can call my pinafore to testify to my good will in the work, for in ten minutes it was reduced to a perambulating bill of fare, presenting samples of all the refreshments going or gone.”
“Their clothing was certainly simple enough, each and all wearing only a kind of pinafore or smock frock reaching from the neck to the ankle and made of very coarse osnaburg, but kept as clean and whole as the nature of their employment allowed.”
“Bertrand and Geraldine lowly on buffets, while Hilary was perched on the top of a huge packing chest, enveloped in a pink "pinafore," and looking all the prettier because her brown hair was ruffled a little out of its usual immaculate order.”
“We wear only modest feminine dresses and usually pinafore style aprons.”
“Kit held up the black seersucker halter dress with white dots for herself and the black lace cotton pinafore for Fancy.”
“The crowd parted, gliding away from Fancy as if on rollers, until she stood alone, her pinafore fluttering in the warm breeze.”
“Under the shadows of my bonnet and pinafore, I could do nothing else but nod.”
“For me, this became more than a theoretical question when I fell in love with a very simple Nanette Lepore dress it's black Italian lace, with a hot pink pinafore under it, and I have added a wide black patent leather belt.”
The Huffington Post: Arianna Huffington: My Favorite Black Dress: Love Story or Cautionary Tale?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘pinafore’.
-
Very Silly Words
A list of very silly sounding words, as well as words that are fun to say
badot, gardyloo, dingbat, gaffer, kine, haberdashery, forsooth, whey-faced, hoddypeak, brouhaha, widdershins, decemnovenarianize and 115 more...
-
phrontistery - p
from phrontistery.info
pustule, purulence, pushful, purser, purpureal, putative, purpure, purpresture, purloin, purline, purlieu, purlicue and 1766 more...
-
of Montreal
Every time I finally decipher Kevin Barnes's song lyrics, I feel somewhat smarter.
These are strange/big/obscure words and phrases from the lyrics of the band 'of Montreal' (intentiona...southern hemisphe..., paradigm, Phaidon Press, permutation, List Christie, Gemini Tactics, eluardian, persecution complex, Himmlers, parabola, Mono Club, subconscious mass... and 132 more...
-
Words beginning with P
peripatetic, pearlescent, perfunctory, palliate, permafrost, prosthetic, pliant, pluvious, percussion, procrastinate, progeria, prognathism and 49 more...
-
Ships of Fame
Famous ship names that I've heard of and/or like. Includes airships. See also the list Ships, if you want to.
bonhomme richard, serapis, monitor, virginia, florizel, aurora, stephano, golden hind, santa maria, pinta, nina, beagle and 119 more...
-
words
diplopic, dolorous, farrago, surety, scuttlebutt, Arabesque, infarct, neurasthenia, lambent, expurge, univocal, simper and 395 more...
-
grassdog's Words
schadenfreude, sanguine, nefarious, verisimilitude, antediluvian, salacious, obfuscate, plethora, cacophony, defenestration, vacillate, blasphemy and 478 more...
-
Words Covered in Faery Dust (P)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
pagan, page, pageant, pageboy, pagoda, paisley, paladin, palfrey, paling, pampas grass, pan, panoply and 194 more...
-
the worshipful company of haberdashers
NB: this list being not limited to haberdashery in the strictest sense, but also including items of the milliner's trade, the mercer's trade, and the tailor's trade, it is to be noted that I just r...
button, ribbon, damask, silk, satin, wool, gabardine, felt, trilby, haberdashery, velvet, linen and 138 more...
-
Just 'cause I like 'em, P
pellucid, pertain, pampas, prate, pinecone, philistine, pantocrator, papaverine, postmeridian, potlatch, pharology, pinniped and 622 more...
-
noele's list
vertiginous, verdant, mellifluous, serpentine, verdigris, traject, amaranthine, luminous, phosphorescent, temerous, cerulean, shapeshifter and 531 more...
-
Dresses!
maxi, mini, gown, A-line, sheath, cocktail, jumper, sundress, strapless, mermaid, little black dress, shift and 35 more...
-
wit's Words
hullabaloo, ballyhoo, brouhaha, hubbub, haberdashery, chicanery, chagrin, rabble-rouser, machinations, palindrome, panopticon, vindaloo and 22 more...
-
my favorite nouns
olives, fillip, wrist, oblata, poultice, leeks, garlic, noise, deference, pistachios, static, neck and 29 more...
-
The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray
Words and phrases from Chris Wooding's book, The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray.
griddle, overhead, circumscribe, mawkish, lour, coccyx, stetson, barrister, glut, heath, swill, grog and 47 more...
-
the dressing room
vest, jacket, insignia, toga, fan, mantle, ermine, robe, snap, waistcoat, anorak, chaps and 71 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for pinafore.

Prolagus I have experience in matters similar
I can’t juggle I can’t knit a pinafore
But I’ll listen to your tale and give you some advice.
(The psychiatrist is in, by God Help the Girl) Oct 20, 2009