wig

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A covering of real or artificial hair worn on the head for style, disguise or because of hair loss.

   Grammar: Countable: a wig, three wigs; wear a wig.

   Patterns

   • wear a wig
   • a wig made of something

   She wore a blonde wig to the costume party.

   The actor needed a gray wig to play the old professor.

   After the treatment, he chose a natural-looking wig.

2. 2nouncountableBritish

   A short curled hairpiece worn by judges and barristers in some courts, especially in Britain.

   Grammar: Often used in the plural for the tradition: judges in wigs and gowns.

   Patterns

   • wear a wig in court

   The judge adjusted his horsehair wig before entering the courtroom.

   Barristers in some countries still wear a wig and gown.

   The tradition of the courtroom wig goes back to the seventeenth century.

Word forms

Common combinations

wear a wig

He wears a wig to cover his bald patch.

synthetic wig

The synthetic wig was cheap but looked real.

powdered wig

The actor stepped out in a powdered wig and silk coat.

flip your wig

My dad will flip his wig if I'm late again.

wig and gown

The barrister arrived in wig and gown.

human-hair wig

She saved up for a human-hair wig.

Synonyms and how they differ

hairpiece

Hairpiece is a neutral term for any addition of false hair, often smaller than a full wig and used to cover thin patches.

toupee

A toupee covers only the top of a man's head, while a wig covers the whole head.

periwig

Periwig is an old word for a long, curled wig of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

rug

Rug is slang and usually teasing when used for a man's wig.

Word family

wigged adjective

wearing a wig

wigless adjective

not wearing a wig

wigmaker noun

a person who makes wigs

periwig noun

a long old-style wig

Commonly confused: wig or wig out?

Practice

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