1. A woman's loose dressing gown, often of soft, delicate fabric.
2. Informal or incomplete attire.

[French négligée, from feminine past participle of négliger, to neglect, from Latin neglegere. See neglect.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.