gown

gown — noun

1. A long, elegant dress that a woman wears to formal social events, such as weddin

1.nounB1
Definition

A long, elegant dress that a woman wears to formal social events, such as weddings, parties, or award ceremonies.

Example

Mayumi wore a long white gown to her graduation party.

collocation: white gown / graduation

The bride's gown had delicate lace sleeves and a long train.

descriptive: gown + features (lace, train)

Common collocations
  • wedding gown
  • evening gown
  • ball gown
  • bridal gown
  • white gown
Synonyms
  • dress

    a general term for any one-piece woman's garment; less formal and shorter than a gown

  • frock

    an older or more British term for a woman's dress; now less common and can sound dated

  • evening dress

    formally refers to attire for evening events; overlaps with 'gown' but can also include separates

Common Mistakes

My sister wore a beautiful gown to the office.
My sister wore a beautiful dress to the office.
'gown' suggests a long, formal garment; for everyday or work wear, use 'dress' instead.
He wore a gown to the wedding.
She wore a gown to the wedding.
'gown' in this sense refers to a woman's formal dress; men do not wear gowns in this meaning (a man's formal garment is a 'suit' or 'tuxedo').

2. A long, roomy garment that goes over your regular outfit and is worn for a certa

2.nounB1
Definition

A long, roomy garment that goes over your regular outfit and is worn for a certain job or situation — such as a surgical gown, an academic gown, a hospital gown, or a dressing gown.

Example

The surgeon put on a blue gown before entering the operating room.

medical: surgical gown

Students at Oxford wear black academic gowns for graduation ceremonies.

academic: graduation gown

Common collocations
  • surgical gown
  • hospital gown
  • academic gown
  • dressing gown
  • graduation gown
  • cap and gown
Synonyms
  • robe

    often interchangeable with 'gown' for academic or ceremonial contexts, but 'robe' can also mean a bathrobe or a judge's robe

  • coverall

    a one-piece protective garment; more technical and less common in everyday language

Usage Note

This sense covers several specific garments: a surgical gown (worn by medical staff during operations), a hospital gown (worn by patients), an academic gown (worn at university ceremonies, especially in the UK), and a dressing gown (worn at home for comfort). Distinguish from sense 1, where the focus is on the elegance of a woman's formal dress, not on the garment's function.

Common Mistakes

The doctor wore a white formal dress in the operating room.
The doctor wore a surgical gown in the operating room.
'gown' in medical contexts refers to a specific protective garment, not a fashion dress.

3. A light, loose piece of clothing, usually one piece, that a woman or girl wears

3.nounB1
Definition

A light, loose piece of clothing, usually one piece, that a woman or girl wears to sleep in.

Example

Nkechi bought a soft cotton gown to wear on warm summer nights.

fabric: cotton gown

The little girl's nightgown had pictures of stars and moons on it.

Common collocations
  • nightgown
  • cotton gown
  • silk gown
  • flannel gown
  • in one's gown
Synonyms
  • nightgown

    the full form of this sense; used interchangeably with 'gown' but slightly more formal

  • nightdress

    a British term for the same garment; less common in American English

Usage Note

This sense is a shortened form of 'nightgown' and is used mainly for women's and girls' sleepwear. Men typically wear 'pyjamas' (pajamas) rather than a gown. In everyday conversation, 'nightgown' is often shortened to just 'gown' when the context of sleeping is clear.

Common Mistakes

He put on his cotton gown before bed.
He put on his pyjamas before bed.
'gown' as sleepwear is usually for women; men wear pyjamas or a nightshirt.

4. Used in the expression 'town and gown' to refer to the two groups in a universit

4.nounC1
Definition

Used in the expression 'town and gown' to refer to the two groups in a university town: the people who live there permanently and the students and staff who study or work at the university.

Example

Town and gown relations grew tense after the new student housing was built.

fixed phrase: town and gown (relationship)

Bilal wrote his thesis on tensions between town and gown in medieval university towns.

academic usage: town and gown tensions

Common collocations
  • town and gown
  • town and gown relations
  • town and gown tensions

Grammar Patterns

town and gown

Usage Note

This sense only appears in the fixed expression 'town and gown,' which describes the relationship between a university community ('gown', referring to the academic robes traditionally worn by scholars) and the non-university residents ('town') of a city. The word 'gown' here is metonymic — it stands for the entire institution and its members through the symbol of academic dress. The expression is most commonly used in British English, especially in older university cities such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Durham. It is not used alone; you cannot say 'the gown' to mean the university without pairing it with 'town.'

Common Mistakes

The gown organised a charity event.
The town and gown community organised a charity event.
'gown' in this metonymic sense must be paired with 'town'; it cannot stand alone to refer to the university.

Word family

  • nightgown
    nounB1
  • dressing gown
    nounB1
  • gownsman
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Dress is the broadest term for any one-piece outer garment worn by women, covering all lengths and levels of formality. Gown narrows this to a long, elegant dress designed for formal settings such as weddings, balls, or award ceremonies — it carries a stronger sense of ceremony and luxury than a simple dress. Frock is an older word for a woman's dress, still used occasionally in British English but often felt as dated or quaint; it would sound odd for a modern formal event. Evening dress can refer either to the social dress code (formal evening wear) or to a specific garment, and unlike 'gown,' it can describe a two-piece outfit (top and skirt) as well. For example: 'She wears a simple cotton dress to work every day.' 'The bride arrived in a stunning white gown.' 'The vintage frock was beautiful but too old-fashioned for the party.'

dress ↗gown ↗frockevening dress

Common collocations

Nouns

  • gown designer
  • gown shop
  • gown rental

Phrases

  • cap and gown

Prepositions

  • in a gown
  • wearing a gown
  • change into a gown

Etymology

Byzantine GreekLate LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'gown' entered English in the 14th century from Old French 'gone' (a robe or cloak). The French word came from Late Latin 'gunnus', meaning a fur or leather garment, which was borrowed from Byzantine Greek 'gouna', referring to an animal skin or fur garment. Over time, the meaning shifted from a heavy fur outer garment to any long, loose piece of clothing, and later split into the specific modern senses of formal dresses, professional robes, sleepwear, and metonymic reference to university members.