leatherette
Syllables: lea·ther·etteUK/ˌlɛðəˈɹɛt/
leatherette noun: a type of fabric, often plastic, made to imitate the appearance of leather.
Noun (1)
leatherette (countable and uncountable, plural leatherettes)
- A type of fabric, often plastic, made to imitate the appearance of leather.
- Many attempts have been made to supply a material to take the place of leather on cheap books, but hitherto nothing has been quite successful. [...] Such a material has apparently appeared in the form of "Leatherette," which is a kind of felted paper, very tough, the same colour throughout, and...1875 May 4, “Leatherette”, in The Bookseller: A Newspaper of British and Foreign Literature, […], number CCX, London: Printed b John Ogden & Co., […], for the proprietor, Joseph Whitaker, […], →ISSN...
- Material.—A rather stiff quality of jute board or tar board, similar to that used by bookbinders. Straw board is not serviceable, being too brittle. Also leatherette for covering and some figured paper for lining. Also some muslin or sateen for hinges. This should match the leatherette as nearly as...1894 September 1, Walter J. Kenyon, “Paper and Cardboard Sloyd. VIII.”, in The School Journal: A Weekly Journal of Education, volume XLIX, number 7, New York, N.Y.; Chicago, Ill.: E. L. Kellogg &...
Noun (2)
leatherette (plural leatherettes)
- A person, especially a woman, who dresses in leather or imitation leather.
- The NYU [New York University] tarts and the club slime, the art holes and the once-a-week bridge-and-tunnel leatherettes, the spikes and the usual dregs and walking garbage, Eel was giving them all the hiss.1994, George Dawes Green, chapter 27, in The Caveman’s Valentine, New York, N.Y.: Warner Books, →ISBN; ebook edition, New York, N.Y.: Warner Books, March 2001, →ISBN
- Since I seemed to know some of the leatherettes, I was a magnet for fellow Jews wanting to know what was going on.2003 August 19, Bruce Vilanch, “Heathers in Leathers”, in Bruce C. Steele, editor, The Advocate, Los Angeles, Calif.: Liberation Publications, →ISSN, page 66, column 2
Examples of leatherette in a sentence
- Also leatherette for covering and some figured paper for lining.1894 September 1, Walter J. Kenyon, “Paper and Cardboard Sloyd. VIII.”, in The School Journal: A Weekly Journal of Education, volume XLIX...
- We have obtained a neat, classy, leatherette cover for this purpose, using imitation leather because it is neater than cloth, and cheaper and more durable than real leather.1912 January, R[obert] C. Matthews, Secretary, the Executive Council, “The Catalog Plan”, in Harold C. Dean, editor, The Bent of Tau Beta...
- Quick let's make love, / Before we die. / On Warm Leatherette, / Join the carcrash set.1978 November, “Warm Leatherette”, Daniel Miller (lyrics), performed by The Normal:
- Fishnet leatherette / Pussy Galore / Pseudo Sumo wrestler / On the door1980 November 3, Bauhaus (Daniel Ash; Kevin Haskins; David J; Peter Murphy), “Dive”, in In the Flat Field, performed by Bauhaus:
Forms of leatherette
| plural | leatherettes |
|---|
Origin of leatherette
From leather + -ette (suffix forming nouns meaning an imitation or substitute of something); originally a trademark that has since been genericized.
From leather + -ette (suffix forming nouns denoting (female) people).
Words that rhyme with leatherette
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- upset
- vignette
- whet
- sett
- cornet
- let
- manchette
- roulette
- yet
- cadet
- cassette
- collarette
- forget
- pet
- banquette
- met
- mignonette
- musette
- octet
- reset
- unset
- abet
- beget
- brunette
- cuvette
- debt
- dinette
- dudette
- duet
- minuet
- navette
- planchette
- quartet
- regret
- silhouette
- vinaigrette
- aid and abet
- amourette
- barrette
- bavette
- bet
- brett
- briquette
- corvette
- couchette
- enucleate
- fossette
- grisette
Questions about leatherette
- What does leatherette mean?
- Leatherette means a type of fabric, often plastic, made to imitate the appearance of leather.
- How do you use leatherette in a sentence?
- Also leatherette for covering and some figured paper for lining.
- What part of speech is leatherette?
- Leatherette is a noun.
- How do you pronounce leatherette?
- Leatherette is pronounced /ˌlɛðəˈɹɛt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of leatherette?
- The plural of leatherette is leatherettes.
Words near leatherette in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: leatherette (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:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-leatherette.ogg.
Cite this entry: “leatherette.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/leatherette. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.