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 ( par ¹ -cule ¹ ) + -ā- thematic vowel + -re infinitive suffix

Example Sentences

Appliances, apparel and new cars all saw sharp price increases in January from December.

From The Wall Street Journal

The apparel industry forms the backbone of Bangladesh, which is the world's second largest exporter of clothes after China.

From BBC

The discount apparel chain’s owner had decided to close its 544 stores.

From The Wall Street Journal

Meanwhile, the US will apply a reciprocal tariff rate of 18 percent on goods from India, including textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastic and rubber, organic chemicals, and certain machinery, the joint statement added.

From Barron's

One of the fastest-growing brands in apparel and footwear isn’t in fast fashion or athleisurewear.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• dress
• equipment
• garment
• gear