gown

gown — noun

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

1.名詞B1
釋義

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

例句

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)

同義詞
  • 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

常見錯誤

❌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.名詞B1
釋義

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.

例句

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

同義詞
  • 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

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.名詞B1
釋義

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

例句

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.

同義詞
  • 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

用法筆記

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.

常見錯誤

❌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.名詞C1
釋義

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.

例句

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

文法句型

town and gown

用法筆記

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.'

常見錯誤

❌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.