Standard Lemma guide

chiffon

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ʃɪˈfɑn/
  • /ˈʃɪfɑn/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑn
  • CMU ARPABET: SH IH0 F AA1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A lightweight, balanced plain-woven sheer fabric, or gauze, like gossamer, woven of alternate S- and Z-twist crepe (high-twist) yarns made of silk, polyester, or cotton.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Her dresses are made from these marvelous chiffons.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any purely ornamental accessory on a woman's dress, such as a bunch of ribbon, lace, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a sheer fabric of silk or rayon

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fabric, cloth, material, textile

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French chiffon, from Middle French chiffe (“cloth, old rag”), from Old French chipe (“rag”), from Middle English chip, chippe (“chip, shard, fragment”), from Old English ċipp (“chip, splinter, shaving”); see chip.

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: шифо́н (šifón) — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Catalan: xifó — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Chinese Mandarin: 雪紡 /雪纺 (xuěfǎng) — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Finnish: sifonki — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Hungarian: sifon — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Indonesian: sifon — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Irish: sreabhann — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Italian: chiffon — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Italian: velocrespo — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Japanese: シフォン (shifon) — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Japanese: 絹モスリン (kinu mosurin) — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Korean: 시폰 (sipon) — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Korean: 실크 모슬린 (silkeu moseullin) — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Macedonian: шифон (šifon) — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Malay: sifon — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Polish: szyfon — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Portuguese: chiffon — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Romanian: șifon — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Russian: шифо́н (šifón) — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Spanish: gasa — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Swedish: chiffong — sheer silk or rayon fabric
  • Turkish: şifon — sheer silk or rayon fabric