jacket meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

jacket

noun

UK /ˈd͡ʒæk.ɪt/ · US /ˈd͡ʒæk.ɪt/

Etymology From Middle French jacquet, diminutive of Old French jaque.

9 senses

A piece of clothing worn on the upper body outside a shirt or blouse, often waist length to thigh length.

A piece of a person's suit, beside trousers and, sometimes, waistcoat; coat (US)

An outer garment (usually white) intended for chefs and which may be taken to signify status.

A protective or insulating cover for an object (e.g. a book, hot water tank, bullet.)

Slang A police record.

We got a crowd of black, white customers, out-of-state license plates, what have you. Somebody gonna check that out. They gonna drop a dime on me, call 911. And you know with my jacket I can't go back to jail.1995 September 13, Richard Price, Spike Lee, 00:27:05 from the start, in Clockers, spoken by Rodney Little (Delroy Lindo), 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks; distributed by Universal Pictures:
Yo's jacket shows possession with intent, possession of unlicensed firearm, and assault, for which he still owes three years.1995 September 13, Richard Price, Spike Lee, 00:43:50 from the start, in Clockers, spoken by Rocco Klein (Harvey Keitel), 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks; distributed by Universal Pictures:

1 more example

Government, Military, Politics, War In ordnance, a strengthening band surrounding and reinforcing the tube in which the charge is fired.

The tough outer skin of a baked potato.

Jamaica A bastard child, in particular one whose father is unaware that he is not the child’s biological father.

Appalachia A vest (US); a waistcoat (UK).

Synonyms: coat, sleeve
Derived terms: 87 terms
air jacket, bad-jacket, Baja jacket, battle jacket, bed-jacket, bedjacket, between-seasons jacket, biker jacket, biking jacket, bluejacket, body jacket, bomber jacket, bookjacket, bumfreezer jacket, bush jacket, chore jacket, cork jacket, dinner jacket, donkey jacket, down jacket, dressing jacket, dust jacket, dust someone's jacket, ear jacket, Eisenhower jacket, Eton jacket, field jacket, flak jacket, flight jacket, full metal jacket, half-jacket, hose jacket, hunting jacket, Ike jacket, jacketless, jacket plum, jacket potato, jacketwise, jackety, jean jacket, jeans jacket, kangaroo jacket, kilt jacket, lagging jacket, leatherjacket, leathery jacket, letter jacket, letterman jacket, life jacket, lumber jacket, lumberjacket, Mao jacket, matinee jacket, matinée jacket, mess jacket, metal jacket, monkey jacket, Nehru jacket, Norfolk jacket, pea jacket, pilot jacket, polka jacket, potato in its jacket, Prince Charlie jacket, puffer jacket, rainjacket, reefer jacket, rejacket, safari jacket, shacket, shell jacket, shooting-jacket, smoking jacket, sport jacket, sports jacket, steam jacket, straight jacket, suit jacket, teddy bear jacket, teddy jacket, transitional jacket, varsity jacket, warm-up jacket, warmup jacket, water jacket, yellow jacket, zouave jacket

verb

Etymology From Middle French jacquet, diminutive of Old French jaque.

To confine (someone) to a straitjacket.

‘None of your gab, I tell you! If you speak another word, I'll have you jacketed[…]!’1792, Thomas Holcroft, Anna St. Ives, volume VII, Fragment:

To enclose or encase in a jacket or other covering.

...to...prevent...the loss of heat...there is also a layer of silicate cotton or slag wool. This latter material is also employed to jacket the chimney for a certain portion of its length.1897, Alexander James Wallis-Tayler, Motor Cars Or Power-carriages for Common Roads:
By jacketting the mercury tube determinations can be made at any temperature desired.1918, Wilfred E[mil] Guttentag, “Examination and Testing”, in Petrol and Petroleum Spirits: A Description of Their Sources, Preparation, Examination and Uses, London: Edward Arnold, →OCLC, page 63:

2 more examples

By jacketting the rod and putting the whole resonant-bar device in a pressure vessel, the intrinsic attenuation can be measured under helium confining pressure.1989, Bernard Zinszner, “Is acoustic wave attenuation a useful parameter for well logging reservoir analysis?—Learning from laboratory experiment”, in G. Imarisio, M. Frias, J.M. Bemtgen, editors, Hydrocarbons: Source of Energy […], London; Norwell, Mass.: Graham & Trotman for the Commission of the European Communities, →ISBN, session I […], page 87:
Jaw has been exposed for preserving and jacketting. Note other bone fragments near jaw.1999, Maxine R. Kleindienst, Charles S. Churcher, Mary M.A. McDonald, Henry P. Schwarcz, “Geography, Geology, Geochronology and Geoarchaeology of the Dakhleh Oasis Region: […]”, in Charles S. Churcher, Anthony J. Mills, editors, Reports from the Survey of the Dakhleh Oasis, […] (Dakhleh Oasis Project: Monograph 2; Oxbow Monograph 99), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxbow Books, →ISBN, page 7, column 2: