apparel

American  

[uh-par-uhl] / əˈpær əl /

noun

1. clothing, especially outerwear; garments; attire; raiment.

   Synonyms:

   vesture, costume, garb, dress, clothes

2. anything that decorates or covers.

3. superficial appearance; aspect; guise.

4. Nautical. the masts, sails, anchor, etc., used to equip a vessel.

5. Ecclesiastical. a piece of embroidery, usually oblong, on certain vestments, especially on the alb or amice.

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verb (used with object)

appareled, appareling, apparelled, apparelling

1. to dress or clothe.

   Synonyms:

   array, outfit

2. to adorn; ornament.

3. Nautical. to equip (a vessel) with apparel.

apparel British  

/ əˈpærəl /

noun

1. something that covers or adorns, esp outer garments or clothing

2. nautical a vessel's gear and equipment

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verb

1. archaic (tr) to clothe, adorn, etc

Other Word Forms

• overappareled adjective
• unappareled adjective
• well-appareled adjective
• well-apparelled adjective

Etymology

Origin of apparel

1200–50; Middle English appareillen < Old French apareillier to make fit, fit out < Vulgar Latin *appariculāre, equivalent to ap- ap- ¹ + *paricul ( us ) a fit ( see par ¹ -cule ¹) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix

Explanation

Apparel is just another word for what you wear. Hopefully the apparel you wear to work — suits and heels — is very different from the apparel you wear on the weekends — pajama pants and bunny slippers. The noun apparel got its start from the Latin apparare, meaning to “prepare, make ready,” or ad-particulare, meaning “to put things together.” In the mid 13th century it evolved into a verb meaning “to equip.” It wasn’t until the next century that people began to use apparel as both a verb meaning “to attire” and as a noun meaning garments or clothing. Said 17th century British writer Thomas Fuller, “…Apparel shapes: but it's money that finishes the man.”

Example Sentences

While US orders accounted for only around 10 percent of his company's foreign trade, Zhou said the country is a fast fashion hub with "massive demand" for apparel, especially denim.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Food-inspired fashion has filtered down from luxury designers like Dolce & Gabbana which embraced it late last decade, says Lorynn Divita, an associate professor of apparel design and merchandising at Baylor University in Texas.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

By contrast, reshoring of apparel and furniture is a fight against economic gravity, namely the massive labor cost advantage in other countries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

In its trademark application, filed on Feb. 27, Nike had indicated the intention of using the logo on seemingly all types of athletic apparel, including footwear, headwear, shirts, pants, shorts and jackets.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Meanwhile the girl fetched all her soiled apparel to bundle in the polished wagon box.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Related Words

• dress
• equipment
• garment
• gear