Word.ws English Dictionary

abacost

UK/ˈæ.bə.kɒst/US/ˈæ.bə.kɑst/

abacost noun: a short- or long-sleeved button-up jacket, worn without a shirt, that was promoted in Zaire under the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko.

abacost: a short- or long-sleeved button-up jacket, worn without a shirt, that was promoted in Zaire under...
Image: Frank Hall, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

abacost (plural abacosts)

  1. (historical) A short- or long-sleeved button-up jacket, worn without a shirt, that was promoted in Zaire under the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko.
    • Wearing a collarless jacket called the abacost that reflected the style of chairman Mao, Mobutu outlawed the traditional suits and business dress of the West.2005, Jeanne M. Haskin, The tragic state of the Congo: from decolonization to dictatorship, Algora, page 44
    • The abacost became Mobutu's personal trademark, […]2006, Martin Meredith, Africa: from the hopes of freedom to the heart of despair, PublicAffairs, page 296

Examples of abacost in a sentence

  • [T]he new leader [Mobutu Sese Seko] embarked on a campaign of 'Africanisation', with […] suits giving way to the abacost (a Congolese version of the Mao jacket); […]2007, Gemma Pitcher et al., Africa, 11th edition, Lonely Planet, page 562:
  • [A]ll western clothing was banned—to be replaced by one-piece tunic called an abacost.2007, Michael Powell, 101 People You Won't Meet in Heaven, Globe Pequot, page 206:

Forms of abacost

pluralabacosts

Origin of abacost

From French. A contraction of à bas le costume (“down with the western suit”)

Questions about abacost

What does abacost mean?
Abacost means a short- or long-sleeved button-up jacket, worn without a shirt, that was promoted in Zaire under the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko.
How do you use abacost in a sentence?
[T]he new leader [Mobutu Sese Seko] embarked on a campaign of 'Africanisation', with […] suits giving way to the abacost (a Congolese version of the Mao jacket); […]
What part of speech is abacost?
Abacost is a noun.
How do you pronounce abacost?
Abacost is pronounced /ˈæ.bə.kɒst/ (UK).
What is the plural of abacost?
The plural of abacost is abacosts.

Words near abacost in the dictionary

  1. abackwards
  2. abacmectin
  3. Abaco
  4. Abaco Islands
  5. abacomancy
  6. abacost
  7. abacosts
  8. abacot
  9. abacs
  10. abacter
  11. abacteraemic

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: abacost (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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