spandex

noun

span·dex ˈspan-ˌdeks

: any of various elastic textile fibers made chiefly of polyurethane

also : clothing made of this material

Did you know?

Spandex is a fiber that has had an impact on fashion high and low, casual and formal, outer and under. It's not a trademark, as a number of the names of other fibers are, among them Dacron, Lycra, and Orlon. It's a generic term, coined in 1959 as an anagram of the word expands. Anagrammatic coinages are not common; the only other in our dictionaries that the average person is likely to be familiar with is sideburns. Sideburns is an anagram (and synonym) of burnsides, from Ambrose E. Burnside, a Union general in the American Civil War credited with originating the fashion (in the U.S., at least) also known as side-whiskers.

Examples of spandex in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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These Gloria Vanderbilt jeans, for example, have nearly 25,000 five-star ratings from shoppers thanks to its relaxed fit and comfy blend of cotton, polyester, and spandex. —

Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 2 Dec. 2024 The jeans have a relaxed, straight-leg design, are crafted with a stretchy blend of cotton, polyester, and spandex, and come in 16 shades. —

Alicia Geigel, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Nov. 2024 The upload showed Kendall wearing a large circular replica of a cucumber paired with green spandex leggings. —

Angel Saunders, People.com, 21 Nov. 2024 The pants are made with a blend of spandex and polyester fabric that feels soft and stretchy, along with a warm wool lining on the interior. —

Gabriella Maestri, Travel + Leisure, 20 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for spandex