balaclava

noun

bal·​a·​cla·​va ˌba-lə-ˈklä-və  -ˈkla- 

: a knit cap for the head and neck

called also balaclava helmet

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Candy confection meets comfortable practicality with Clare V's take on the balaclava. —Roxanne Adamiyatt, Town & Country, 5 Jan. 2023

Always one to take up space on the carpet with the most architectural of looks, Rihanna arrived in a head-to-toe white outfit featuring what could be considered a large-scale balaclava covered in white camellia appliqués. —Michelle Lee, Peoplemag, 2 May 2023

Iraqi army armored vehicles drive by, carrying faceless men, their identities hidden behind sunglasses and balaclavas. —Nazih Osseiran, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Mar. 2023

As a cold spell swept through Mumbai in January and people donned sweaters and balaclavas to keep warm, a dusty haze hung in the air, occasionally caking onto leaves and piling into mounds on street corners. —WIRED, 8 Mar. 2023

The balaclava was popularized as most winter fashions are—on the slopes. —Roxanne Adamiyatt, Town & Country, 5 Jan. 2023

To finish the outfit off, hot glue cardboard ears to a headband or balaclava. —Lara Sorokanich, Popular Mechanics, 4 Oct. 2022

Seen on the runways at Miu Miu and The Row, these knit accessories have the warming benefits of a dickey (thanks to its neck and/or chest additions) and the coverage of a winter hat, without the hair static-inducing tightness of a beanie or the intensity of a full face balaclava. —Madeline Fass, Vogue, 4 Jan. 2022

Eleven months later, an M&T branch in Kensington was robbed — this time by a man in a black balaclava, with a slender leather case hanging from his neck, possibly holding a police scanner, and a wire extending up to an earpiece. —Washington Post, 25 Oct. 2021

See More

Word History

Etymology

Balaclava, Crimea, site of a British encampment during the Crimean War

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined above