Meaning & use
mitten
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A warm glove that covers the four fingers together in one section and the thumb separately, worn to keep hands warm.
Grammar: A single item; usually talked about as "a pair of mittens" because people wear two.
Patterns
- a pair of mittens
- wear mittens
- woollen mittens
The children pulled on their mittens before going out to play in the snow.
I lost one mitten and now the pair is useless.
nouncountable
A similar fingerless covering for the hand, with a separate section for the thumb, sometimes used for work or driving.
Grammar: Same countable use as sense 1; context shows whether it is a warm winter mitten or a lighter fingerless one.
Patterns
- fingerless mittens
- leather mittens
She wore fingerless mittens so she could still use her phone outside.
The driver pulled on leather mittens against the cold steering wheel.
Word forms
| plural | mittens |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pair of mittens
- Grandma knitted a pair of red mittens for the baby.
- woollen mittens
- Woollen mittens keep your hands warm even in wet snow.
- pull on mittens
- The toddler tried to pull on her mittens by herself.
- lose a mitten
- He lost a mitten on the bus and had a cold hand all the way home.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: mitten or mitt? mitten or kitten?
mitten vs mitt
A mitt is a thick padded glove for baseball, boxing, or the oven; a mitten is knitted and worn in cold weather.
mitten vs kitten
A kitten is a young cat; it differs from "mitten" only in the first sound.
Practice
Because mittens keep all four fingers in one warm section, they are usually ___ than gloves with separate fingers.
Choose one answer.
Fingers share heat inside one section, so mittens are warmer. The shared section actually makes gripping harder, which is their main drawback.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mitten”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.