apron: Meaning and Definition of

a•pron

Pronunciation: (ā'prun), [key]
— n.
  1. a garment covering part of the front of the body and tied at the waist, for protecting the wearer's clothing: a kitchen apron.
  2. a similar garment extending to the knees, worn by bishops, deans, and archdeans.
  3. a metal plate or cover, usually vertical, for a machine, mechanism, artillery piece, etc., for protecting those who operate it.
  4. a continuous conveyor belt for bulk materials, consisting of a chain of steel plates.
  5. (in a lathe) a part of the carriage holding the clutches and gears moving the toolholder.
  6. a paved or hard-packed area abutting an airfield's buildings and hangars, where planes are parked, loaded, or the like.
  7. a broad paved area used for parking cars, as at the end of a driveway.
    1. any device for protecting a surface of earth, as a riverbank, from the action of moving water.
    2. a platform to receive the water falling over a dam.
  8. the part of a stage floor in front of the curtain line.
  9. skirt (def. 6).
  10. the outer border of a green of a golf course.
  11. the part of the floor of a boxing ring that extends outside the ropes.
  12. Also calleda flat, broad piece of interior window trim immediately beneath the sill. See diag. under
  13. a strip of metal set into masonry and bent down to cover the upper edge of flashing; counterflashing.
  14. the open part of a pier for loading and unloading vessels.
  15. (in a wooden vessel) a piece reinforcing the stem on the after side and leading down to the deadwood.
  16. a deposit of gravel and sand at the base of a mountain or extending from the edges of a glacier.
  17. the frill of long hairs on the throat and chest of certain long-haired dogs, as the collie.
  18. a structure erected around another structure, as for reinforcement or decoration: a high fence surrounded by a wire apron buried in the ground.
—v.t.
  1. to put an apron on; furnish with an apron.
  2. to surround in the manner of an apron: The inner city is aproned by low-cost housing.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
See also: