houndstooth

noun hounds·tooth \ ˈhau̇n(d)z-ˌtüth \

variants: or less commonly hound's-tooth

|Updated on: 1 Jul 2018

Definition of houndstooth

: a usually small broken-check textile pattern; also : a fabric woven in this pattern — called also houndstooth check, hound's-tooth check

Recent Examples of houndstooth from the Web

There, the Duchess topped off her shift with a graphic houndstooth topper from Catherine Walker with a similar A-line silhouette.

— edward barsamian, Vogue, "Kate Middleton Dresses Up In Alexander McQueen, Catherine Walker, and Chanel For Day 2 of Her Sweden Visit," 31 Jan. 2018
The Princess of Wales first wore this red-and-white houndstooth jacket by Moschino to a church service in Sandringham with the royal family in December 1990 with a matching black-and-white skirt, red hat and pearl earrings.

— lyndsey matthews, Town & Country, "Kate Middleton Channels Princess Diana in Red Houndstooth Coat," 31 Jan. 2018
At the 66th Annual BMI Pop Awards in Beverly Hills WHEN: May 8, 2018 WHY: Ronson knows how to wear the hell out of a razor-sharp suit, especially one in black-and-white houndstooth with flared trousers.

— matt sebra, GQ, "The 10 Best-Dressed Men of the Week," 14 May 2018
With only two seams and no darts, classical fabrics — wools, houndstooth checks — were bonded onto light foam for minimal structure.

— cathy horyn, The Cut, "How Technology Will Transform Tailoring," 5 Mar. 2018
And that trim physique shown off in houndstooth check jackets and ascots back in the 1960s has softened somewhat under a scarlet sweater vest.

— alex williams, New York Times, "Rex Reed Bangs a Gong on the Mediocrity of Modern Life," 10 Jan. 2018
Never one to shy away from piling on the prints, Huntington-Whiteley wore a crisp houndstooth blazer that, when worn over a solid black turtleneck, didn’t clash with her monogrammed purse.

— maria ward, Vogue, "Is the Micro Bag the New Briefcase? Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Says Yes," 4 Apr. 2018
For Loewe a blouson leather jacket and houndstooth trousers were jazzed up with a bright yellow low-slung belt made of interlocked triangles.

— laura brown, Harper's BAZAAR, "The Look: Totally Waisted," 25 Aug. 2015
Oh God yes, Monet’s outfit was doing laps around Eureka’s houndstooth.

— stephen daw, Billboard, "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 10, Ep. 6: DragCon Challenge Puts Frontrunners on the Chopping Block," 27 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'houndstooth.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.