Toupee Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms toupee American [too-pey] / tuˈpeɪ /

noun

1. a man's wig.

2. a patch of false hair for covering a bald spot.

3. (formerly) a curl or an artificial lock of hair on the top of the head, especially as a crowning feature of a periwig.

toupee British / ˈtuːpeɪ /

noun

1. a wig or hairpiece worn, esp by men, to cover a bald or balding place

2. (formerly) a prominent lock on a periwig, esp in the 18th century

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of toupee

1720–30; variant of toupet < French, equivalent to Old French to ( u ) p tuft (< Germanic; top 1 ) + -et -et

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Once the toupee was removed, Miller gave it to the crowd and began celebrating like he had won the bout, before quickly reverting to fight mode.

From BBC

Hair installations or systems - such as wigs, toupees or extensions - and skin camouflage products such as pigmented fibre sprays may help to disguise the condition, according to the British Association of Dermatologists.

From BBC

I didn’t see a horse until 1984 when I got to work the Derby as a reporter for the first time and witnessed the wind carrying Howard Cosell’s toupee aloft.

From Salon

She smiled and stared at him as he dug his thick teeth into the late-autumn grass, a black toupee sliding forward off the top of his head.

From Seattle Times

It said teams were finding new blockages each day caused by unsuitable items, but having to root out troublesome toupees from drains was a "new one for us".

From BBC

Related Words

• hairpiece

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.