What does leatherette mean?
Leatherette is a manufactured material designed to look and feel like leather without using animal hide. It may consist of cloth, vinyl, or another synthetic fabric with a leather-like coating, and is commonly used for book covers, furniture upholstery, vehicle interiors, and other surfaces where an inexpensive, consistent, easy-to-clean material is wanted. The word is also used in bookbinding to identify a style of case made with coated imitation leather. Because it can provide the characteristic appearance of leather while avoiding some of the expense and variability of genuine hide, leatherette became especially useful in mass-produced goods. It is not, however, simply another general term for any synthetic material resembling leather: the word has long been associated with coated cloth and the traditional bookbinding trade. Its history also illustrates how a familiar material can be represented convincingly through industrial manufacturing, with the resulting fabric retaining leather's visual appeal while being fundamentally different in composition.
nounA material made to resemble leather, especially a cloth or synthetic fabric coated to imitate leather's appearance and texture. The term is also used for book covers made from such material.
- A cloth or synthetic material finished to resemble leather.
- Bookbinding in which covers are made from coated imitation-leather material.
"The old armchairs were upholstered in brown leatherette."
"The directory has a durable leatherette cover."
"They replaced the cracked leatherette seat with a new one."
The plural is uncommon and is used chiefly when referring to multiple distinct articles, covers, or pieces of imitation leather.
"Several leatherettes were displayed on the shop counter."
Leatherette is the perfect imitation—on the outside.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does leatherette come from?
Leatherette is an English compound formed from leather and the suffix -ette, a form historically associated with imitation or substitute materials. Leather itself comes through Anglo-French from Old English læþer, referring to animal hide used for clothing and other purposes. The compounded word developed as a descriptive name for materials made to imitate the established substance of leather rather than its underlying animal origin.
How leatherette is actually used
The word is formal and somewhat trade-oriented in bookbinding, while remaining ordinary in descriptions of furniture and vehicle interiors. It describes appearance and texture rather than the genuine substance of leather.
Easily confused with leatherette
Leather is hide or skin treated for use, whereas leatherette is an imitation material made to resemble it.