Meaning & use
letterman jacket
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Meaning
nouncountableAmerican
A jacket, often with leather sleeves and a wool body, that a student receives for playing on a school team and decorates with a letter.
Grammar: Countable: earn a letterman jacket. It is also used before nouns: a letterman jacket patch.
Patterns
- earn a letterman jacket
- wear a letterman jacket
He wore his letterman jacket to every football game in his senior year.
Earning a letterman jacket was a proud moment for the whole family.
The jacket's big felt letter showed which school he represented.
Word forms
| plural | letterman jackets |
|---|
Common combinations
- earn a letterman jacket
- You must play on the varsity team to earn a letterman jacket.
- wear a letterman jacket
- She likes to wear her brother's letterman jacket.
- vintage letterman jacket
- I found a vintage letterman jacket at a thrift store.
- wool letterman jacket
- A wool letterman jacket keeps you warm in autumn.
- letterman jacket patches
- The patches on his letterman jacket marked each sport.
Synonyms and how they differ
- varsity jacket
- Varsity jacket is a nearly identical term, often used in fashion stores for the same style, even when no team is involved.
- bomber jacket
- A bomber jacket is plain and zipped, usually of one material, while a letterman jacket has a contrasting body and sleeves.
- baseball jacket
- Baseball jacket is a looser, more general name for the same sporty cut.
Word family
Commonly confused: letterman jacket or letterman?
letterman jacket vs letterman
Letterman on its own means a student who has earned a school letter, and it is also a surname; the jacket is the item of clothing.
Practice
A letterman jacket is traditionally given to a student who ____.
Choose one answer.
Lettermen earn their jackets, with school letters, for team sports or other achievements. The other options are not the usual reason.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “letterman jacket”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.