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.
UK:/ˈpɒn.tʃəʊ/
US:/ˈpɑn.t͡ʃoʊ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ɒntʃəʊ
CMU ARPABET:P AA1 N CH OW0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A simple garment, made from a rectangle of cloth, with a slit in the middle for the head.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A similar waterproof garment, today typically of rubber with a hood.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
1857, Solomon Nunes Carvalho, Incidents of Travel and Adventure in the Far West, p. 48 (1857), p. 48 (1858):
I found it necessary while doing guard to cover myself with my India-rubber poncho, to prevent my clothes from becoming saturated with water.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a blanket-like cloak with a hole in the center for the head
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: cloak
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Spanish poncho, from Quechua punchu. In sense “rubber rain poncho”, attested 1845, used for non-South American garments in the United States and England from 1850s, popularized by US Western expeditions and military from 1850s, particularly after World War II (1940s).
Across languages
Translations
31 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Catalan:
ponxo
— simple garment of cloth
Danish:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Dutch:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Finnish:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
French:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
German:
Poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Ancient Greek:
χλαμύς
(khlamús)
— simple garment of cloth
Irish:
painseó
— simple garment of cloth
Italian:
poncio
— simple garment of cloth
Malay:
ponco
— simple garment of cloth
Norwegian Bokmål:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Norwegian Nynorsk:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Polish:
ponczo
— simple garment of cloth
Polish:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Portuguese:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Quechua:
punchu
— simple garment of cloth
Quechua:
unku
— simple garment of cloth
Russian:
по́нчо
(pónčo)
— simple garment of cloth
Spanish:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Spanish:
jorongo
— simple garment of cloth
Swedish:
poncho
— simple garment of cloth
Turkish:
panço
— simple garment of cloth
Catalan:
capelina
— waterproof garment with hood
Chinese Mandarin:
雨披
(yǔpī)
— waterproof garment with hood
Dutch:
poncho
— waterproof garment with hood
Dutch:
regenponcho
— waterproof garment with hood
Finnish:
sadeviitta
— waterproof garment with hood
German:
Regenponcho
— waterproof garment with hood
Italian:
poncio
— waterproof garment with hood
Dari:
پَانْچو
(pānčō)
— waterproof garment with hood
Swedish:
regnponcho
— waterproof garment with hood
