Meaning & use
frock
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Meanings
nouncountableold-fashionedBritish
A woman's or girl's dress, especially one that looks pretty or is worn for a special occasion.
Grammar: Has a plural: one frock, three frocks.
Patterns
- a frock for something
- wear a frock
She wore a yellow frock to her cousin's wedding.
My grandmother kept her best frock wrapped in tissue paper.
The little girl twirled around the garden in her new frock.
nouncountablereligionold-fashioned
A long, loose outer garment with wide sleeves worn by monks and some other religious figures.
Grammar: Often appears with the word monk's: a monk's frock.
Patterns
- a monk's frock
The friar tied his rope belt over a rough brown frock.
In the painting, the monk's frock is stained with ink.
verbtransitiverarearchaic
To dress someone in a frock, or to give a priest the formal status of a clergyman.
Grammar: Takes an object, and is rare: the bishop frocked the young priest.
Patterns
- frock someone
The old tradition required that the new priest be frocked before the congregation.
The aunts frocked the toddler in lace for the christening.
Word forms
| plural | frocks |
|---|---|
| third person singular | frocks |
| past tense | frocked |
| -ing form | frocking |
Common combinations
- a summer frock
- She bought a light summer frock for the garden party.
- a party frock
- Every girl arrived in a sparkling party frock.
- a floral frock
- He remembered his mother in a floral frock, hanging washing in the sun.
- frock and heels
- She arrived in a frock and heels, ready to dance.
- frock coat
- The actor wore a long black frock coat in the period drama.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- frock coat noun
- a long, knee-length men's coat from the nineteenth century
- frocked adjective
- wearing a frock
- unfrock verb
- to strip a priest of his office
Commonly confused: frock or smock? frock or froth?
frock vs smock
A smock is a loose protective top worn over clothes, for example by an artist, while a frock is a dress.
frock vs froth
Froth is a mass of small bubbles on a liquid. It is pronounced differently and has no link to clothing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'frock' in its usual, slightly old-fashioned British sense?
Choose one answer.
A frock is a dress, so a blue frock for a christening fits. A brother's tweed garment or a football strip would not be called a frock, and a river cannot have one.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “frock”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.