Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

costume

/ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.18 in modern English

Syllables: cos-tume
IPA: /ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

An outfit or a disguise worn as fancy dress etc.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A set of clothes appropriate for a particular occasion or season.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A swimming costume.

Countable; Uncountable

verb

To dress or adorn with a costume or appropriate garb.

Example Sentences

"the sight of thousands of people gathered to watch men walk the streets openly in female costume"
"The apology came after a netizen claimed Soberano was supposedly doing a black face, but the latter said, in defense, it was just a “costume.”"
"We wore gorilla costumes to the party."
"The bride wore a grey going-away costume."
"They call their bathing suits down there "costumes.""
"Seated on the carpet, by the side of this basin, was seen Mr. Rochester, costumed in shawls, with a turban on his head. His dark eyes and swarthy skin and Paynim features suited the costume exactly. He looked the very model of an Eastern emir, an agent or a victim of the bowstring."

Etymology

Borrowed from French costume, from Italian costume, from Latin consuētūdō (“custom, habit”). Doublet of consuetude, custom, and kastom. Verb circa 1802, perhaps modelled on French costumer.

Origin

Source language: Italian

Word Breakdown

Root: costume, consuetudo, costumer

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/
British English: /ˈkɒs.tjuːm/

Usage

Inflected Forms

costumes (plural) costumes (present, singular) costuming (participle, present) costumed (participle, past) costumed (past)

Derived Forms

cossie costumal costumeless costumer costumier costumery costumey costumic costumist recostume

Phrases

academic costume bathing costume costume change costume drama costume jewellery costume jewelry costume party domino costume

Frequently Paired Words

customary custom uniform

Synonyms

getup outfit dress up

Rhymes With

room whom assume boom resume bloom tomb consume zoom doom perfume womb

Questions

How do you pronounce costume?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/.
What does costume mean?: A style of dress, including garments, accessories and hairstyle, especially as characteristic of a particular country, period or people.
Where does costume come from?: It is traced to Italian.

How to pronounce costume

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “costume”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɑsˌt(j)um/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “costume”.
Repeat and practice — Say “costume” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.