babushka
noun
-ˈbu̇sh- ,
ba- \
Definition of babushka
1a : a usually triangularly folded kerchief for the head
b : a head covering (such as a scarf) resembling a babushka
2a : grandmother Until my own babushka's generation very specific clothes were assigned to specific classes, specific hairstyles distinguishing married from unmarried women. —Francine du Plessix Gray
b : an elderly Russian woman … I jostled among babushkas clutching bags of food for a place on the bus … —Gary Lee
Illustration of babushka
babushka 1a
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Synonyms for babushka
Synonyms
bandanna (or bandana), do-rag, handkerchief, kerchief, mantilla
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Examples of babushka in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
NORGE BANK Russia’s central-bank governor Elvira Nabiullina went one step further in December, breaking into song in a slick music video that also featured a dabbing babushka. — Tom Fairless, WSJ, "Coming to a Festival Near You: Friendly Central Bankers," 28 May 2018 Instead of hats, the Moscow crew favors silk babushka-like headscarves and, on sunny days, teeny-tiny sunglasses. — Style Du Monde, Vogue, "The Best Street Style From Russia Fashion Week Fall ’18," 12 Mar. 2018 Russian concept store owner Olga Karput also kicked back in style, hanging out like a Vetements babushka with a head kerchief and floral gloves. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "The Best Fashion Instagrams of the Week: Kim Kardashian West Wears Sparkly Underwear, Bella Hadid Channels the Future," 27 Jan. 2018 Other noteworthy moments: Solange should be inspiring your alt mirror selfies, Lili Sumner looks great in a purple coat even in front of an inappropriate backdrop, and Nadia Lee Cohen made a case for a silk babushka. — Liana Satenstein, Vogue, "The Best Fashion Instagrams of the Week: Everyone is On Vacation, Supreme is Big in Russia, and Solange Takes a Mirror Selfie," 12 Aug. 2017 Meredith Arwady unleashes her huge contralto as the comic babushka Amelfa. — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Steve Jobs opera in Santa Fe shows a troubled tech wizard in search of his humanity," 8 Aug. 2017 Liberals in the United States have always had good things to say about socialism, which is communism’s prettier younger sister who doesn’t wear a babushka or have a hairy mole on her cheek. — Christine Flowers, Philly.com, "When did Russia become a friend of America?," 13 July 2017 All languages borrow words from other languages — Americans may recognize agitprop, sputnik, babushka or cosmonaut. — David Filipov, Washington Post, "Russians are fighting the war of words against the U.S. with American words," 26 Apr. 2017 Wearing a scarlet knot of lipstick like a Matryoshka doll, with her hair frequently wrapped in a babushka scarf, her appearance — like her clothes — is a million miles from that of Rubchinskiy’s. — Alexander Fury, New York Times, "Back in the U.S.S.R.: Russia’s Fashion Resurgence," 18 Apr. 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'babushka.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Learn More about babushka
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
You Wear Them On Your Head
You Wear Them On Your Head
Or you could, anyway.
Statistics for babushka
Last Updated
21 Aug 2018
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The first known use of babushka was in 1938
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