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breeches

[ brich-iz, bree-chiz ]
/ ˈbrɪtʃ ɪz, ˈbri tʃɪz /
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noun (used with a plural verb)
Also called knee breeches. knee-length trousers, often having ornamental buckles or elaborate decoration at or near the bottoms, commonly worn by men and boys in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries.
Informal. trousers.
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Idioms about breeches

    too big for one's breeches, asserting oneself beyond one's authority or ability.

Origin of breeches

1125–75; Middle English, plural of breech

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH breeches

breeches , britches
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use breeches in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for breeches

breeches
/ (ˈbrɪtʃɪz, ˈbriː-) /

pl n
trousers extending to the knee or just below, worn for riding, mountaineering, etc
informal, or dialect any trousers
too big for one's breeches conceited; unduly self-confident
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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