# hat

/ˈhæt/ (US) · /hˈæt/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/hat
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 2. a role or job

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

a particular job or role that someone has at a certain time.

For teachers: a figurative representation of a specific role, capacity, or office held by an individual.

- In her job, she wears many hats, including designer and manager.
- The CEO had to wear his negotiator hat during the merger talks, setting aside his usual focus on internal operations.

### 3. typography/math symbol

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a small symbol like a little roof (^) placed over a letter or number.

For teachers: a diacritical mark or symbol, specifically the circumflex or caret, often used in mathematics to denote a unit vector or an estimator.

- In this equation, the letter 'x' with a hat on top represents a specific value.
- The professor explained that the hat symbol above the variable indicates a predicted value rather than an observed one.

### 4. lottery container

noun · CEFR B1

a container used to hold names or numbers for a random draw.

For teachers: a metaphorical or literal receptacle used for the random selection of names or numbers in a lottery or draw.

- We put everyone's name into a hat to decide who would go first.
- To ensure total impartiality, the names of all eligible candidates were placed in a hat for the final selection process.

### 6. to provide with a hat

verb · CEFR C2 · Formal

to put a hat on someone or to make hats for a living.

For teachers: to provide with a hat or to cover with a hat; also used in the context of manufacturing headwear.

- The children were carefully hatted and gloved before they went outside.
- The historical drama required the costume department to hat over fifty extras in period-accurate Victorian styles.

## Examples

- He puts on a warm hat before going outside in the snow.
- The hikers wore wide-brimmed hats to protect their faces from the intense midday sun.
- While the dress code for the event was technically casual, many guests arrived wearing elaborate hats that suggested a much more formal atmosphere.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.