trouser

American  

[trou-zer] / ˈtraʊ zər /

adjective

1. of or relating to trousers or a trouser.

   trouser cuffs; a trouser seam.

---

noun

1. a leg of a pair of trousers.

trouser British  

/ ˈtraʊzə /

noun

1. (modifier) of or relating to trousers

   trouser buttons

---

verb

1. slang (tr) to take (something, esp money), sometimes surreptitiously, undeservedly or unlawfully

Etymology

Origin of trouser

First recorded in 1600–10; back formation from trousers

Explanation

A pair of trousers is a two-legged piece of clothing you wear on the bottom half of your body. It's easier to climb a fence while wearing trousers than a long dress. In the U.S., most people refer to trousers as pants, while in the U.K. pants are underwear. If you cut your trousers off above your knees, they become shorts, and if they're made out of denim, you can call them jeans. In Scotland, trousers are sometimes called trews, one possible root of the word. Another source may be the Gaelic triubhas, "close-fitting shorts."

Example Sentences

In the Trouser Press, Ian McCaleb and Ira Robbins called the band’s follow-up, 1983’s “Get It Away,” “a definitive hardcore classic.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2025

Trouser suits were donned with sequins, while glittery beanies and diamond-encrusted clutch bags were also a highlight.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2025

Trouser suits were slim and cropped at the ankle.

From Reuters • Sep. 23, 2023

For the 1996 edition of his Trouser Press Guide, the review of "Nevermind" — one of the longest in the entire volume — deemed it "the Rosetta Stone of '90s punk-rock."

From Salon • Sep. 24, 2021

However new, however good the tailor, however comely the leg beneath, the Trouser is the one heart-breaking object to the conscientious but æsthetically-minded draughtsman on wood!

From The History of "Punch" by Spielmann, M. H. (Marion Harry)