What does "bonnet" mean?
A type of hat, once worn by women or children, held in place by ribbons tied under the chin.
Bonnet
/ˈbɒnɪt/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A type of hat, once worn by women or children, held in place by ribbons tied under the chin.
- Grammar: bonnet is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: hood, accelerator, adorn, aeroplane.
- Useful contrasts: bare head, uncover, uncovered engine.
- Usage evidence: This car has the boot under the bonnet. The engine is in the back.
How to use "bonnet"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bonnet" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bonnet" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bonnet" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bonnet" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bonnet" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hood" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bonnet", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of hat, once worn by women or children, held in place by ribbons tied under the chin.
"In the hall, Scarlett saw a bonnet and put it on hurriedly, tying the ribbons under her chin. It was Melanie's black mourning bonnet and it did not fit Scarlett's head but she could not recall where she had put her own bonnet."
- 2 a hat tied under the chin wordnet
- 3 A traditional Scottish woollen brimless cap; a bunnet.
"A shock-head of red hair, which the hat and periwig of the Lowland costume had in a great measure concealed, was seen beneath the Highland bonnet, and verified the epithet of Roy, or Red, by which he was much better known in the low country than by any other, and is still, I suppose, best remembered."
- 4 protective covering consisting of a metal part that covers the engine wordnet
- 5 The polishing head of a power buffer, often made of wool. broadly
"Make sure that the power buffer's lamb's-wool bonnet is clean. Change or rinse the bonnet frequently to avoid scratching the finish. Use the bonnet as a mitten to buff in the crevices and other areas that the power buffer can't reach."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 The hinged cover over the engine of a motor car, also known as a hood in chiefly Canada and the US. Australia, British, Commonwealth, New-Zealand, South-Africa
"The car is burgundy red, wide and elegant, ten years old but still the boys are impressed and they run to touch it, pressing sticky handprints against the polished bodywork and trying to climb up onto the bonnet."
- 7 A length of canvas attached to a fore-and-aft sail to increase the pulling power.
"And standing along to the Westward, this night we tryed with our mayne coarse and bonnet. On Saturday night we came to an anker, in three fathomes against Sewramo."
- 8 An accomplice of a gambler, auctioneer, etc., who entices others to bet or to bid. obsolete, slang
"“All you have to do is to put a sovereign down on my table, and to find the pea, which I put under one of my thimbles. […] Why,” said the man, “I think you would do to be my bonnet.” “What would the wages be?” I demanded. “Why, to a first-rate bonnet, as I think you would prove, I could afford to give from forty to fifty shillings a week.”"
- 9 The second stomach of a ruminant.
- 10 A ducat, an old Scottish coin worth 40 shillings. historical
- 11 Anything resembling a bonnet (hat) in shape or use.; A small defence work at a salient angle; or a part of a parapet elevated to screen the other part from enfilade fire.
- 12 Anything resembling a bonnet (hat) in shape or use.; A metallic canopy, or projection, over an opening, as a fireplace, or a cowl or hood to increase the draught of a chimney, etc.
- 13 Anything resembling a bonnet (hat) in shape or use.; A frame of wire netting over a locomotive chimney, to prevent escape of sparks.
- 14 Anything resembling a bonnet (hat) in shape or use.; A roofing over the cage of a mine, to protect its occupants from objects falling down the shaft.
- 15 Anything resembling a bonnet (hat) in shape or use.; In pumps, a metal covering for the openings in the valve chambers.
- 16 Anything resembling a bonnet (hat) in shape or use.; A mushroom of the genus Mycena.
Verb
- 1 To put a bonnet on. transitive
- 2 dress in a bonnet wordnet
- 3 To take off the bonnet or cap as a mark of respect; to uncover. obsolete
"Hee hath deſerued worthily of his Countrey, and his aſſent is not by ſuch eaſie degrees as thoſe, who hauing beene ſupple and courteous to the People, Bonnetted, without any further deed, to haue them at all into their eſtimation, and report:"
- 4 To pull the bonnet or cap down over the eyes of. dated, transitive
"“You’re a dutiful and affectionate little boy, you are, ain’t you?” said Mr. Weller, “to come a bonnetin’ your father in his old age?”"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from French.
Example
"This car has the boot under the bonnet. The engine is in the back."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bonnet"?
Common synonyms include: hood, accelerator, adorn, aeroplane, airplane, attire.
How do you use "bonnet" in a sentence?
This car has the boot under the bonnet. The engine is in the back.
How do you pronounce "bonnet"?
Pronounced /ˈbɒnɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English bonet, from Middle French bonet (Modern French bonnet), from Old French bonet (“material from which hats are made”), from Frankish *bunni (“that which is bound”), from Proto-Germanic *bundiją (“bundle”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie”). Compare also Late Latin abbonis, obbonis (“ribbon of a headdress”), also of Germanic origin, from Frankish *obbunni, from *ob- (“above, over”) + *bunni. Cognate with Old High German gibunt (“band, ribbon”), Middle Dutch bont (“bundle, truss”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌿𐌽𐌳𐌹 (gabundi, “bond”). More at over, bundle.
Etymology 2
Variant of Bonnett, ultimately from French.