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tablecloth

tablecloth

47 1.0
A cloth that covers a table during a meal
  • noun
  • /ˈteɪbəlˌklɔθ/
translation icon : mantel
  • I looked at her across the checked tablecloth, at the yellow candlelight flickering across her rigid face.
  • a white tablecloth
  • a plastic tablecloth
  • covered with a tablecloth

Big hotel ballroom, you know, like white tablecloths, fine China, tuxedos, chandeliers.

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Examples

  • She carefully spread the clean tablecloth across the dining table before serving the meal.

  • Big hotel ballroom, you know, like white tablecloths, fine China, tuxedos, chandeliers.

  • And we can put a tablecloth over that big table too.

  • I pull the tablecloth out from under the dishes --

  • You wouldn't happen to have a tablecloth, would you?

  • There's a clean tablecloth in the cupboard.

  • Well, they set it up very nicely with the tablecloth and all the goodies on it.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Residents are served family style at tables, with tablecloths provided for the evening meal.

    Academic text (1995)
  • I've been admiring your tablecloth.

  • The elegant dining room was a blur of white: tablecloths at empty tables, snow smearing the broad windows.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

cloth
vstablecloth
215 1.0

A piece of material made by joining threads together and used for making clothes or for cleaning

is the specific cover used on dining tables during meals
oilcloth
vstablecloth
2 6.8

A strong cloth covered with oil that protects tables from water and stains

is an ordinary dining cover used for meals, not mainly waterproof
nappe
vstablecloth
  • UK
8.4

A cloth that covers a table during a meal

means the same but is an alternative term for the same item
tea cloth
vstablecloth
  • UK
2.7

A small cloth put on a table when serving tea

is larger and used for full dining meals rather than only tea

How Covered

tablecloth
47 1.0
placemat
12 1.6

Surface Forms

tablecloth singular
tablecloths plural

Morphology

tablecloth = table + cloth (transparent) = table + cloth

A direct compound of 'table' + 'cloth'; the meaning 'a cloth used on a table' is immediately derivable by learners.

Etymology

Tablecloth is simply the old words table and cloth joined together: table is the piece of furniture and cloth is a piece of fabric. So a tablecloth is literally a 'cloth' you put on a 'table' to protect or decorate it during a meal.