hatter

IPA/ˈhætə(r)/
KK[hˈætɚ]IPA/ˈhætər/

hatter — noun

  • hattersingular
  • hattersplural

1. a person whose trade is creating, adjusting, or selling headwear such as hats an

1.nounC1
Definition

a person whose trade is creating, adjusting, or selling headwear such as hats and caps.

Example

Mizuki asked the hatter to add a silk lining to her favorite sun hat.

requesting a service: ask [person] to [verb phrase]

The hatter's shop on Elm Street closed last year after sixty years in business.

possessive: the hatter's [place]

Common collocations
  • a master hatter
  • the hatter's shop
  • the hatter's trade
  • apprentice hatter
Synonyms
  • hat maker

    more modern and neutral term; suitable for any type of headwear

  • hatmaker

    same as 'hat maker'; can also refer to a company that produces hats

  • milliner

    specifically refers to a person who makes or sells women's hats, often with decorative trimmings

Grammar Patterns

a hatter

the hatter

hatter's [shop/workshop]

Usage Note

Frequently used in historical or traditional-handicraft contexts. In modern everyday English, 'hat maker' is more neutral; 'hatter' carries an old-fashioned or artisanal tone and often appears in relation to the well-known idiom 'mad as a hatter.'

Common Mistakes

❖ 'My neighbor is a hatter — she always acts strangely.' ✅ 'My neighbor is mad as a hatter — she always acts strangely.' — 'Hatter' alone does not mean 'crazy'; the idiom 'mad as a hatter' is required to describe odd behavior.

Idioms

mad as a hatter

idiom

behaving in a crazy or very silly way; extremely eccentric.

Grandpa tells the same wild stories every time we visit — he's mad as a hatter, but we love him.

The main character of the novel is an inventor who is mad as a hatter, building flying machines in his tool shed.

Word family

  • hat
    nounA1
  • hatmaker
    nounC1
  • milliner
    nounC2
  • millinery
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A hatter and a milliner both work with hats, but a milliner specializes in women’s hats and focuses on fashion, decoration, and trimming, whereas a hatter traditionally produces a wider range of headwear including men’s hats and casual caps. 'Hat maker' (or 'hatmaker') is a modern, neutral term that works for any type of headwear and any gender of wearer. 'Haberdasher' is sometimes confused with hatter but actually refers to a seller of men’s clothing, accessories, and sewing notions — not specifically hats. For example: 'She bought a fascinator from a milliner, but her husband got his fedora from a hatter.'

hat makermillinerhaberdasher

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • hatter's block
  • master hatter

Prepositions

  • at (the hatter's)
  • from (the hatter)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed in Middle English from 'hat' (a covering for the head) plus the agent suffix '-er' (meaning 'a person who does something'). The phrase 'mad as a hatter' dates from the 1800s and is believed to refer to the mercury poisoning that affected real hatters, who used mercury to treat felt and often developed neurological symptoms such as tremors and confused speech.

First known use

13th century

13th century, in the meaning defined above