- plural of breech.
breeches
Americanplural noun
-
trousers extending to the knee or just below, worn for riding, mountaineering, etc
-
informal any trousers
-
conceited; unduly self-confident
Etymology
Origin of breeches
1125–75; Middle English, plural of breech
Explanation
Breeches are an old-fashioned kind of short pants that end at the knee. These days, you're most likely to wear breeches if you ride horses (or if you like to dress up in 18th-century clothes). Riding breeches are designed to make horseback riders comfortable and streamlined. They're snug-fitting and usually meant to be worn with tall riding boots. Fencers wear a similar type of breeches as part of their uniform. From the 16th to the 19th century, breeches were ordinary adult men's clothing, sometimes also called britches.
Vocabulary lists containing breeches
Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His red coat with black trim, red waistcoat with hand-stitched buttonholes and gold regimental buttons, and white breeches “represent the only complete uniform of the Revolutionary war.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
Like warm coals, the hidden crimson hue seems to burst into full flame in Caballero’s scarlet breeches, vest and chair upholstery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
When the play begins, a troupe of actors, costumed in skirts and breeches that gesture toward the Elizabethan, are about to put on a new show, “The London Merchant.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
The procession is expected to arrive at the abbey at 10:53, with the King likely to wear military uniform instead of the more traditional breeches and silk stockings worn by kings before him.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2023
But for breeches and a plain shirt, this man’s life should not have been at hazard.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
