bibelot

noun

bi·​be·​lot ˈbē-bə-ˌlō How to pronounce bibelot (audio)
plural bibelots ˈbē-bə-ˌlō(z) How to pronounce bibelot (audio)
: a small household ornament or decorative object : trinket

Did you know?

Can you think of a six-letter synonym of bibelot that starts with the letter "g"? No? How about an eight-letter one? Crossword puzzle whizzes might guess that the words we are thinking of are gewgaw and gimcrack. Like these, bibelot, which English speakers borrowed from French, has uses beyond wordplay. In addition to its general use as a synonym of trinket, it can refer specifically to a miniature book of elegant design (such as those made by Tiffany and Faberge). It also appears regularly in the names of things as diverse as restaurants and show dogs.

Examples of bibelot in a Sentence

practically every horizontal surface in the Victorian parlor was blanketed with fussy little bibelots
Recent Examples on the Web The painting then remained in the artist’s possession and out of public sight until it was bought, in 1927, as a chic bibelot for a swanky members-only social club in London. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 9 May 2022 Bruno Magli’s luxe nappa leather bibelot upgrades the standard-issue, white plastic AirPods case. Kareem Rashed, Robb Report, 16 Nov. 2021 Well, nobody ever brought in any bibelot on Dominique. William Middleton, Town & Country, 7 Mar. 2018 Inside there is a small desk with a computer; a bookshelf is adorned with bibelots and certificates of appreciation with her name in fancy script. New York Times, 29 May 2018 Oh, if only Trump had a crystal ball among those Bedminster bibelots! Lynn Yaeger, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bibelot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bibelot was in 1873

Podcast

Dictionary Entries Near bibelot

Cite this Entry

“Bibelot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bibelot. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!