decal

noun

de·​cal ˈdē-ˌkal  di-ˈkal 

Canadian usually

ˈde-kəl 

: a picture, design, or label made to be transferred (as to glass) from specially prepared paper

Examples of decal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Today, their Traverse City store, M22, is a big business selling clothing, coffee mugs, car decals, and even bottles of wine branded with the highway logo. — Mike Norton, Midwest Living, 26 Sep. 2026

The shimmering extensions took off alongside the booming hair-extension market of the late ’90s and early 2000s, when beauty was increasingly punctuated with rainbow eye shadow, rhinestone decals, and anything that caught the light. — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026

That could include new signs across the entire 4,500-acre property; updated BNA Shop merchandise; shuttle bus decals, uniforms, business cards and amendments to hundreds of legal contracts, leases and other government documents. — Molly Davis, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

As a result, the state has sold 8,484 more sets of habitat plates than decals, according to data from the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks running from March 2025, when the plates first became available, through last month. — Joshua Haiar, States Newsroom, 10 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

short for decalcomania

First Known Use

1937, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for decal

• freckle
• meckel
• shekel
• speckle
• thecal

Kids Definition

decal

noun

de·​cal ˈdē-ˌkal  di-ˈkal 

ˈdek-əl

: a picture, design, or label made to be transferred (as to glass) from specially prepared paper

Etymology

a shortened form of earlier decalcomania "the art of transferring pictures," from French décalcomanie (same meaning), from décalquer "to copy by tracing" and manie "mania, craze"