tartan
noun
tar·tan
| \ ˈtär-tᵊn
\
\
Definition of tartan
1
: a plaid textile design of Scottish origin consisting of stripes of varying width and color usually patterned to designate a distinctive clan
2a
: a twilled woolen fabric with tartan design
b
: a fabric with tartan design
3
: a garment of tartan design
Examples of tartan in a Sentence
a kilt in the clan's tartan
Recent Examples on the Web
This season, campuses with abound in tartan, weskits, cummerbunds, slacks and separate jackets. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "From the Archives: Back to school fashion in 1950," 27 Aug. 2019 After Notre-Dame burned, an old photo of Sylvia Plath in front of the cathedral, wearing a tartan skirt, made the rounds. — Dan Chiasson, The New Yorker, "Reader, I Googled It," 26 Aug. 2019 There are windowpane plaids and prince-of-wales checks, tartans and houndstooths. — Sharon Graubard, courant.com, "Fashion report: Cool classics for fall," 15 Aug. 2019 Here, a Tyrolean dress, there, a row of authentic Scottish tartan kilts, plus Victorian christening gowns, opera gloves, LPs . . — Pamela Wright, BostonGlobe.com, "Skip the T-shirt shops, already: Thrift(y) shopping on the Cape," 23 July 2019 Beginning this Spring, guests at the Fife Arms will be offered a chance to work with designer Araminta Campbell on designing (and officially registering) their own custom bespoke tartan. — Jaimie Potters, Harper's BAZAAR, "This Newly-Opened Art Hotel Is Your Fast Pass to Vacationing Like a Royal," 15 July 2019 For the more sartorially curious, the Balmoral can arrange private tours of Scotland's mills, giving guests a chance to meet with the craftspeople behind cashmere and also tartan and tweed, the country's most iconic textiles. — Leena Kim, Town & Country, "Do You Really Need a Cashmere Butler?," 19 Apr. 2019 Whether spliced with lace, as at Prabal Gurung, or mashed up à la Preen by Thornton Begrazzi, plaids, tartans, and checks of all strokes are experiencing a renaissance. — Steff Yotka, Vogue, "The Top Trends of Pre-Fall 2019," 19 Dec. 2018 Originally, it was referred to as tartan, the name Scots gave patterned cloth introduced in their country in the 1500s, according to Bustle. — Lindsey Desimone, ELLE Decor, "A Brief History Of...Plaid," 18 Aug. 2015These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tartan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for tartan
tartan
noun
English Language Learners Definition of tartan
: a traditional Scottish cloth pattern of stripes in different colors and widths that cross each other to form squares
: fabric with a tartan pattern
See the full definition for tartan in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tartan
noun
tar·tan
| \ ˈtär-tᵊn
\
\
Kids Definition of tartan
: a woolen cloth with a plaid design originally made in Scotland
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