Definition

1. Noun:

   • A close-fitting undergarment: A structured garment, typically worn by women, designed to shape and support the torso, often extending from the bust to the hips and fastened with laces or hooks.

2. Verb:

   • To dress or confine with a corset: To fit or constrict someone or something with a corset or similar tight garment.

Examples

• Noun:

  • The historical costume required an authentic corset underneath the dress.
  • She found an antique lace corset at the vintage clothing store.

• Verb:

  • The costume designer will corset the actress for her role in the period drama.
  • In the past, it was common for women to corset themselves to achieve the fashionable silhouette.

Advanced Usage

• "To be in corsets": To be wearing a corset, often implying the constriction or fashion of a past era.

  • Women of the Victorian era were often in corsets from a young age.

• "To corset oneself": To put on a corset, often referring to the act of tightening it.

  • She learned how to properly corset herself for the historical reenactment.

Variants and Related Words

• Corsetry (n): The art, practice, or business of making or fitting corsets.

  • She studied historical corsetry for her fashion design thesis.

• Corseted (adj): Wearing a corset; or, by extension, restricted or confined.

  • The corseted figure was typical of 19th-century fashion.

Synonyms

• Girdle (n): A similar, often lighter, supportive undergarment for the waist and hips.
• Stays (n): A historical term for a stiffened undergarment, a precursor to the corset.

Related Phrases

• "To lace a corset": The specific action of tightening a corset by pulling its laces.
  • Her maid would help her lace her corset each morning.

Related Idioms

• "To be tightly laced/corseted": Can be used figuratively to describe someone who is very strict, formal, or morally rigid.
  • His tightly corseted opinions left no room for debate.

Noun

1. a woman's close-fitting foundation garment

Verb

1. dress with a corset