Poncho

//ˈpɑn.t͡ʃoʊ// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A simple garment, made from a rectangle of cloth, with a slit in the middle for the head.

    "Garibaldi, with his cowboy's poncho, red shirt and the black ostrich feathers in his wide hat […]"

  2. 2
    a blanket-like cloak with a hole in the center for the head wordnet
  3. 3
    A similar waterproof garment, today typically of rubber with a hood.

    "[…] spreading over my bedding an indian-rubber poncho to exclude the rain."

Example

More examples

"You can borrow my poncho if you want to."

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish poncho, from Quechua punchu. In sense “rubber rain poncho”, attested 1845, used for non-South American garments in the United States and England from 1850s, popularized by US Western expeditions and military from 1850s, particularly after World War II (1940s).

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.