pom-pon

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A small soft ball made of wool or thread, used to decorate hats, clothing, or gifts.

   Grammar: Countable: one pom-pom, two pom-poms; often used in the plural when talking about decoration.

   Patterns

   • a pom-pom on something
   • make a pom-pom

   She sewed a bright red pom-pom onto the baby's hat.

   The winter scarf has pom-poms at each end.

   We made pom-poms from leftover yarn for the craft fair.

2. 2nouncountablesport

   A fluffy ball waved by cheerleaders to lead cheers at sports events.

   Grammar: Usually plural in this sense because cheerleaders hold one in each hand.

   Patterns

   • wave pom-poms
   • cheer with pom-poms

   The cheerleaders shook their pom-poms as the team scored.

   She practiced her routine with a pair of silver pom-poms.

Word forms

Common combinations

wool pom-pom

The wool pom-pom felt soft against her cheek.

pom-pom hat

He wore a pom-pom hat to keep his ears warm.

attach a pom-pom

Attach a pom-pom to the top of the gift wrap.

cheerleader's pom-poms

The cheerleader's pom-poms were red and white.

Synonyms and how they differ

bobble

British English for the same wool ball on a hat; pom-pom is more common in American English.

tassel

A bunch of threads hanging from a knot, not a round ball; use tassel for curtains and graduation caps.

Word family

pom-pom noun

Variant spelling of the same word.

Commonly confused: pom-pon or pom-pom?

Practice

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