spandex
noun
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Spandex is a fiber that has had an impact on fashion high and low, casual and formal, outer and under. It's not a trademark, as a number of the names of other fibers are, among them Dacron, Lycra, and Orlon. It's a generic term, coined in 1959 as an anagram of the word expands. Anagrammatic coinages are not common; the only other in our dictionaries that the average person is likely to be familiar with is sideburns. Sideburns is an anagram (and synonym) of burnsides, from Ambrose E. Burnside, a Union general in the American Civil War credited with originating the fashion (in the U.S., at least) also known as side-whiskers.
Examples of spandex in a Sentence
Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 23 June 2024
Opt for supportive, durable materials like polyester, spandex, or nylon that can withstand multiple wears and washes without breaking down or stretching out.
—Andrea Navarro, Glamour, 21 June 2024
And it’s made from 35 percent rayon, 60 percent polyester, and 5 percent spandex, which shoppers say is lightweight and comfortable in hotter weather.
—Carly Totten, Southern Living, 14 June 2024
Underneath all the spandex and over-the-top production numbers is a sincere film that cares as much about sharing the joy of music as satirizing its ostentatious performance.
—Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 4 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for spandex 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spandex.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Spandex.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spandex. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
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spandex
noun
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