cheongsam

noun

cheong·​sam ˈchȯŋ-ˌsäm 

: a dress of southern Chinese origin with a slit skirt and a mandarin collar

Examples of cheongsam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In it actress Maggie Cheung wears 21 cheongsams of different prints. — Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2026

While cheongsams are still made and continue to evolve, with new generations of designers injecting fresh, contemporary twists, Lai Mah said today’s tailors just miss a little something from the classic cut. — Stephy Chung, CNN Money, 13 June 2026

Flat, gold-trimmed, and full of slinky women in cheongsams, these mostly pay tribute to the booming San Francisco Chinatown of the 1920s. — Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 10 June 2026

Others like to wear clothing that is traditional to their cultures, like food blogger Kristen Morita, who wears a traditional Chinese cheongsam for the holiday. — Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 26 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Chinese (Guangdong) chèuhng-sāam, literally, long gown

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined above