diaper

Syllables: di·a·perUK/ˈdaɪ(ə).pə//ˈdaɪ(ə).pəɹ/

diaper noun: an absorbent garment worn around the crotch that retains the wearer's urine and feces, often worn by a baby or young child who is not yet toilet trained, by an adult who is incontinent (who wets the bed), or under extreme working conditions without access to a toilet; a nappy.

Noun

diaper (countable and uncountable, plural diapers)

(Canada, India, Philippines, US) An absorbent garment worn around the crotch that retains the wearer's urine and feces, often worn by a baby or young child who is not yet toilet trained, by an adult who is incontinent (who wets the bed), or under extreme working conditions without access to a toilet; a nappy.
- cloth diaper, disposable diaper, nighttime diaper, swim diaper
- A bag of baby-clothes, containing 1 ſheet, 1 ſhi[r]t, 1 bedgown, 12 diapers, 2 child's bedgowns, 2 child's ſhirts, 2 child's robes, 2 child's nightcaps and a wrapper.1810 April 19, “Exeter Lying-in Charity”, in Trewman's Exeter Flying-Post, volume XLIX, number 2324, R. Trewman, M. Trewman, page 4
Synonyms:

nappy, napkin, pampers, diapie
(Canada, US, colloquial, humorous, sometimes) A container that absorbs and collects (retains) liquid or waste material, similar to a diaper (noun sense 1).
- engine diaper, meat diaper, period diaper, rubber diaper
- Pendent straps in front and behind support a diaper, or its equivalent, during the period of the menses.1868, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Patents, volume II, United States Government Printing Office, published 1870, page 384
(Canada, US, colloquial, derogatory, humorous, possibly) A piece of clothing that resembles the shape of a diaper (noun sense 1) but lacks the absorbency.
- Gandhi was the holiest man in the world and ONLY holy men know how to fight in this world. Gandhi only needs a little diaper and no shoes. He does not need very much food. He doesn't ask for any of the riches of the whole world.1940, Patience Abbe, No Place Like Home, Julian Messner, page 44
- I suppose the average American or European, if asked about Mahatma Gandhi, would summarize his knowledge as follows: Gandhi is a thin, brown toothless Indian, dressed in a diaper, who lives on goat's milk and vegetables, fasts frequently, and has been twisting the British lion's tail for a quarter...1947, Louis Fischer, “Mahatma Gandhi and Generalissimo Stalin”, in Modern Review, volume 1, numbers 1url=https://archive.org/details/modern-review-alcia_1947-03_1_1, Greenwood Reprint Corporation...
(historical) A textile fabric having a repeating pattern, especially of diamonds or flowers, formed by alternating directions of thread.
- Near-synonym: diamond twill
- Diaper table clothes the peece containing xx.yards xl.s1574, The Rates of the Cusſtome Houſe, John Allde (publisher), unnumbered page
Synonyms:

diamond twill
(decorative arts, embroidery) A repeating geometrical or (often stylized) floral pattern, usually of small diamonds evenly spaced, that decorates a flat surface, sometimes in bas-relief; diaperwork.
- The troilled piece, that woven like a courſe gauze, and the lining in a diaper pattern, preſent ſamples which prove that the art of weaving was far advanced at that period.1783 May 1, Lady Moira [Elizabeth Rawdon, Countess of Moira], “Particulars relative to a human skeleton, and the Garments that were found thereon, when dug out of a Bog at […] ”, in Archaeologia: Or...
- […] a mode of treatment which is also—and perhaps in a much greater degree—frequent in early painting, where a flat ground of gold or bright colour, broken and enriched with stamped or painted diaper, outlines and relieves the subject.1855, Fra[nci]s W[ilson] Oliphant, A Plea for Painted Glass: Being an Inquiry Into Its Nature, Character, Objects, and Its Claims as an Art, John Henry Parker, page 47
(historical) A repeating geometrical or floral pattern, used to cover the surface of a shield and forming the ground for any charges.
- Near-synonym: fur
- Note, that you may haue diaper on any two, three, or more of theſe, or any other their like, in one Bordure, and that not onely Bordures, but aſso Fields of coat-armours are found diapered. […] And albeit things hauing life and ſenſe, or their parts, may bee borne diapered; yet Plants, Fruits...1610, John Guillim, A Display of Heraldrie, 1 edition, Raphe Mab, pages 21–22
Synonyms:

fur
(obsolete) A towel, napkin, or tablecloth made from the diaper fabric (noun sense 4).
- Let one attend him with a silver basin, […] / Another bear the ewer, the third a diaper.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- 3 Pˢ Sheeting ditto.
  1 Pˢ Cambrick.
  2 Pˢ Table Diaper.
  64 Pˢ Buckrams.1732, Richard Woolley, “A Particular Account of the Stock in the Cloth Trade of the ſaid Richard Woolley, […] ”, in A True, Exact, and Particular Inventory of All And Singular the Lands, Tenements...

Verb

diaper (third-person singular simple present diapers, present participle diapering, simple past and past participle diapered)

(transitive) To put diapers on someone.
- Diapering a baby is something you have to learn fast.
- It is pretty hard to make a mistake when diapering a baby. About the only way a person can go wrong is to put the diaper on backward, a condition that neither the diaperer nor the diaperee is likely to notice.1988 March 13, Delia Ephron, “In This Year's Movies, Baby Knows Best”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 May 2015
(transitive) To draw geometrical or floral patterns, as upon cloth.
- If you diaper upon folds, let your work be broken.1622, Henry Peacham (Jr.), The Compleat Gentleman

Proper noun capitalized: Diaper

Diaper

A surname.
- Lord Orrery was President to-day; but both our dukes were absent. Brother Wyndham recommended [William] Diaper to the Society. I believe we shall make a contribution among ourselves, which I don't like.1712 March 8, Jonathan Swift, A Journal to Stella, published 1766, Letter 43
- At the end of the week, when, according to appointment, he waited on Mr. Diaper, he was informed laconically that he would not suit, and became aware of the extreme folly of his conduct. The sudden thought that he had spent nearly half of his capital since that day week, aroused him to a very...1842, [Anonymous], The Herberts, volume II, London: Saunders & Otley, page 135

diaper meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

diaper in Hindi

absorbent garment for waste material: लँगोट laṅgoṭ, लँगोटी laṅgoṭī, डायपर ḍāypar

diaper in Tamil

குழந்தை அரைக்கச்சை, சித்திர வேலைப்பாடு

diaper in Marathi

absorbent garment for waste material: डायपर ḍāypar

diaper in Urdu

دستر خوان, پوتڑا

More languagesFewer languages

diaper in Bengali: বুটি buṭi
diaper in Sanskrit: मलधारिणी maladhāriṇī
diaper in Nepali: डाइपर ḍāipar
diaper in Arabic: حِفَاضة ḥifāḍa, حِفَاظ ḥifāẓ, فُوطَة اَلطِّفْل fūṭat aṭ-ṭifl
diaper in Malay: lampin
diaper in Indonesian: popok, lampin
diaper in Persian: پوشَک pušak
diaper in Thai: ผ้าอ้อม pâa-ɔ̂ɔm
diaper in Vietnamese: tã lót, tã
diaper in Myanmar: အနှီး a.hni:

Examples of diaper in a sentence

You push it up the vagina while lying on your back, and retain it there by a bandage around, as in wearing diapers.1817, Thomas Ewell, Letters to Ladies Detailing Important Information, Concerning Themselves and Infants, W. Brown, page 103:
Perhaps you will find space in your charming magazine for the following description of suspenders I made to keep my baby's diaper in place.1888 December, Anonymous [A Jersey Mother], “Diaper Suspenders”, in Leroy M. Yale, editor, Babyhood: A Monthly Magazine for Mothers, volume...
Either birds-eye cotton or flannelette diapers are good.1948 January, Elizabeth Chant Robertson, “Your Questions: Our Answers”, in Byrne Hope Sanders, editor, Chatelaine, volume 21, number 1...
The company manufactured an unfitted adult diaper, modeled on early versions of disposable baby diapers.1988 March 7, Laura Jereski, “Pass the slingshot”, in James Michaels, editor, Forbes, volume 141, number 5, Malcolm Forbes (publisher)...

All 40 example sentences with diaper

Synonyms of diaper

14 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of diaper

Forms of diaper

Noun
plural	diapers
alternative form (obsolete)	diapre
alternative form (obsolete)	dieper
alternative form (obsolete)	dioper
alternative form (obsolete)	dipar
alternative form (obsolete)	dyaper
alternative form (obsolete)	dyapre
alternative form (obsolete)	dyeper
alternative form (obsolete)	dyoper
Verb
third-person singular present	diapers
present participle	diapering
past participle	diapered
past	diapered

Plural of diaper: diapers

Origin of diaper

From Middle English dyaper, diapre, dyapre, from Old French diapre, dyapre, a variant of dyaspre, diaspre (“ornamental silk cloth embellished with decorative patterns”), from Medieval Latin diaspra, diasprum (“a type of rich, valuable silken cloth”), probably from Byzantine Greek δίασπρος (díaspros, “very white; pure white”, adjective), from δια- (dia-, “across”) + ἄσπρος (áspros, “white”).

A variant of the surnames Dipper and Dyper. Unrelated to diaper.

Phrases with diaper

89 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with diaper

Questions about diaper

What does diaper mean?: Diaper means an absorbent garment worn around the crotch that retains the wearer's urine and feces, often worn by a baby or young child who is not yet toilet trained, by an adult who is incontinent (who wets the bed), or under extreme working conditions without access to a toilet; a nappy.
What is diaper in Hindi?: Diaper in Hindi is लँगोट (laṅgoṭ), लँगोटी (laṅgoṭī), डायपर (ḍāypar). See Diaper meaning in Hindi.
How do you use diaper in a sentence?: You push it up the vagina while lying on your back, and retain it there by a bandage around, as in wearing diapers.
What part of speech is diaper?: Diaper can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce diaper?: Diaper is pronounced /ˈdaɪ(ə).pə/ (UK).
What is the plural of diaper?: The plural of diaper is diapers.

Words near diaper in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: diaper (page history and authors); Diaper (page history and authors); diaper (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); diaper (Urdu Wiktionary) (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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-diaper.ogg.

Cite this entry: “diaper.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/diaper. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.