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coat.

An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkoʊ̯t/General-American[ˈkʰoʊ̯t]General-American/ˈkəʊ̯t/Received-Pronunciation[ˈkʰəʊ̯t]Received-Pronunciation

  1. An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms.

    countable

  2. A covering of material, such as paint.

    countable
    fresh coat of paint

  3. The fur or feathers covering an animal's skin.

    countable
    When the dog shed its coat, it left hair all over the furniture and the carpet.

  4. Canvas painted with thick tar and secured round a mast or bowsprit to prevent water running down the sides into the hold (now made of rubber or leather).

    uncountable

  5. A petticoat.

    countable · obsolete · uncountable

  6. The habit or vesture of an order of men, indicating the order or office; cloth.

    countable · uncountable

  7. A coat of arms.

    countable · uncountable

  8. A coat card.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kuttôbor. Latin cotta Old French cottebor. Middle English cote English coat From Middle English cote, coate, cotte, from Old French cote, cotte (“outer garment with sleeves”), from Latin cotta (“undercoat, tunic”), from Proto-Germanic *kuttô, *kuttǭ (“cowl, woolen cloth, coat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷewd-, *gud- (“woolen clothes”). Cognate with Old High German kozza, kozzo (“woolen coat”) (German Kotze (“coarse woolen blanket; woolen cape”)), Middle Low German kot (“coat”), Middle Dutch cote (“coat”), Ancient Greek βεῦδος (beûdos, “woman's attire”).

verb/ˈkoʊ̯t/General-American[ˈkʰoʊ̯t]General-American/ˈkəʊ̯t/Received-Pronunciation[ˈkʰəʊ̯t]Received-Pronunciation

  1. To cover with a coating of some material.

    transitive
    The frying pan was coated with a layer of non-stick material, making it easier to wash.

  2. To cover like a coat.

    transitive

  3. To clothe.

    archaic · transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *kuttôbor. Latin cotta Old French cottebor. Middle English cote English coat From Middle English cote, coate, cotte, from Old French cote, cotte (“outer garment with sleeves”), from Latin cotta (“undercoat, tunic”), from Proto-Germanic *kuttô, *kuttǭ (“cowl, woolen cloth, coat”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷewd-, *gud- (“woolen clothes”). Cognate with Old High German kozza, kozzo (“woolen coat”) (German Kotze (“coarse woolen blanket; woolen cape”)), Middle Low German kot (“coat”), Middle Dutch cote (“coat”), Ancient Greek βεῦδος (beûdos, “woman's attire”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.