Meaning & use
frill
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Meanings
nouncountable
A strip of gathered or pleated fabric sewn on as a decoration.
Grammar: Countable: a dress with a frill at the hem.
Patterns
- a frill on something
The curtains had a pink frill along the bottom.
She added a lace frill to the collar.
The baby's dress was covered in frills.
nounusually pluralinformal
An extra feature or luxury that is not really necessary.
Grammar: Mostly plural and in negatives: no frills.
Patterns
- with no frills
- without frills
The hotel is cheap and has no frills.
We kept the party simple, without any frills.
Budget airlines cut out frills like free meals.
Word forms
| plural | frills |
|---|
Common combinations
- no frills
- It is a no-frills airline with low prices.
- without frills
- The meal was simple and without frills.
- lace frill
- A lace frill edged the pillow.
- extra frills
- Extra frills raise the price quickly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ruffle
- Ruffle is a strip of gathered fabric like frill, but it is only used for clothing, not for luxuries.
- extra
- Extra is neutral, while frill implies the thing is unnecessary or merely decorative.
- trimming
- Trimming is decoration added to clothes or food, and is less critical in tone than frill.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: frill or thrill?
frill vs thrill
A thrill is a sudden feeling of excitement; it is not decoration or luxury, despite the similar sound.
Practice
A "no-frills" hotel is one that offers ____.
Choose one answer.
No-frills means basic, without extra luxuries. Luxurious is the opposite meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frill”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.