britches

American

[brich-iz] / ˈbrɪtʃ ɪz /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

breeches.

britches British

/ ˈbrɪtʃɪz /

plural noun

a variant spelling of breeches

"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

Etymology

Origin of britches

First recorded in 1880–85

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.

An important question: Is South Carolina getting a little too big for its britches?

From Slate • Feb. 18, 2023

The Bengals spent less than one year in their underdog Underoos before becoming too big for their britches.

From Washington Post • Jan. 28, 2023

Yes, it triggers my happy Thanksgiving memories of being at my grandparents house with my cousins and aunts and uncles, riding horses and standing by the fire until my britches got hot to the touch.

From Salon • Nov. 23, 2022

With a single withering remark, he can cut the legs out from under one of his adult children grown too big for their britches.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 2, 2021

I even laughed a little myself, but I wasn’t laughing about losing my britches.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023