sari

sari — noun

1. a traditional South Asian garment created by winding a long sheet of lightweight

1.nounB1
Definition

a traditional South Asian garment created by winding a long sheet of lightweight fabric around the body; the lower portion wraps as a skirt while the upper portion drapes over one shoulder or covers the head

Example

Rohan's grandmother wore a beautiful red sari with gold patterns for the wedding ceremony.

collocation: wear + a sari; colour + pattern

The shop sells silk saris in many colours and designs from across India.

Common collocations
  • wear a sari
  • drape a sari
  • wrap a sari
  • silk sari
  • cotton sari
  • wedding sari
  • beautiful sari
  • traditional sari

Grammar Patterns

a sari

saris (plural)

Usage Note

The word sari refers to both the fabric itself and the complete garment. It is a countable noun: 'She owns several silk saris.'

Common Mistakes

She wore a sari cloth.
She wore a sari.
'sari' already includes the meaning of the garment; adding 'cloth' is redundant.
The saris was beautiful.
The saris were beautiful.
'saris' is the regular plural form and takes a plural verb.

Word family

  • saris
    noun (plural)B1
  • sari-clad
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Sari, salwar kameez, lehenga, and kurta are all traditional garments from South Asia, but they differ in structure and how they are worn. A sari is a single long piece of fabric wound around the body without stitching, whereas a salwar kameez is a stitched two-piece outfit with loose trousers and a long tunic. A lehenga is a stitched long skirt worn with a short top, common at weddings in northern India. A kurta is a knee-length shirt worn by both men and women, usually with straight trousers. For example: 'She wore a cotton sari to work at the hospital' vs 'He wore a white kurta for the evening prayer.'

sari ↗salwar kameezlehengakurta

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a length of sari fabric
  • pallu of the sari
  • sari shop

Prepositions

  • in a sari
  • dressed in a sari

Etymology

SanskritHindi / UrduEnglish

The word sari comes from Hindi and Urdu sāṛī, which traces back to Sanskrit śāṭī, meaning 'a strip of cloth.' The garment itself is thousands of years old, with evidence of draped clothing in the Indus Valley civilisation. English adopted the word in the 18th century during British contact with India.