ˈunderwire, n. N. Amer.
[under- 5 b.]
a. A wire or strap stitched into the underside of each cup of a brassière, to support or shape the breast; also, the material used for this. Freq. attrib. b. A brassière with such support.
| 1973 Tucson (Arizona) Daily Citizen 22 Aug. 10 (Advt.), Underwire point d'esprit $7. 1977 Washington Post 7 Mar. b3/4 ‘Not the old bullet-proof variety (of bras),’ laughs Frame, ‘but soft, underwire styles that give them some cleavage.’ 1980 Christian Science Monitor (Midwestern ed.) 23 Apr. 15 Bras, which have for some time depended on fabric for shaping, are shown again with underwires and overwires, in black, white, and beige. 1984 Sears Catal. 1985 Spring/Summer 196 All charm and seduction..an underwire bra that is almost too pretty to hide! 1988 Working Woman Aug. 96/3 You were only frowning because your underwire just pinched you. But they don't know that. |