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