Meanings
plural Mae Wests
- informalA type of life jacket used by Allied forces in World War II having an inflatable rubber bag on the chest of the wearer.
The most successful form of shark repellent, according to US Naval Research Laboratory tests, was a combination of copper acetate and a dark nigrosine dye, and cakes of this mixture were apparently now attached to the Mae Wests of all the US Armed Forces.
1954, Ian Fleming, “Beau Desert”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 192
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Named after the actress and sex symbol Mae West, who was well known during the war. The inflatable front was taken to be like her busty figure.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Mae West. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mae%20West
“Mae West.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mae%20West. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Mae West,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Mae%20West.
Source: Mae West on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.