bell-bottom

American  

[bel-bot-uhm] / ˈbɛlˌbɒt əm /

adjective

1. Also bell-bottomed. (of trousers) wide and flaring at the bottoms of the legs.

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noun

1. (used with a plural verb) bell-bottoms, bell-bottom trousers.

Etymology

Origin of bell-bottom

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Musicians illuminated stages with bell-bottom jeans, platform shoes and colourful headbands.

From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025

Yet Carl, from flooffy head to bell-bottom hems, is the epitome of soft power and hardened ego.

From New York Times • Apr. 6, 2023

The idea of water, he said, was expressed in the feeling of dripping — for example, the rippling feeling of a loose pair of bell-bottom trousers or even a ruffled black leather skirt.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 10, 2022

Bean, I was too teenage and image-conscious to wear anything that would have kept me comfortable, preferring my jackets cropped and my bell-bottom hems soaked in salt and slush.

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2021

He wore bell-bottom jeans and a red T-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girl’s on homecoming night.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan