noun
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(often plural) an article of clothing
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outer covering
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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regarmentverb (used with object)
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garmentlessadjective
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ungarmentedadjective
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well-garmentedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of garment
1300–50; Middle English garnement < Old French garniment, equivalent to garni ( r ) to garnish + -ment -ment
Explanation
A garment is a piece of clothing. The area of New York City where clothes are manufactured is known as the Garment District. Derived from the French word for "equipment," garment is a somewhat generic term you can use when the specific kind of clothing you're describing is not the point. A dress, for example, is a dress, and pants are pants. They are not the same thing, unless you refer to them both as garments, in which case they are the same thing.
Vocabulary lists containing garment
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Drama
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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.
See Examples For:
Christine is only slightly more experienced, no longer an atelier apprentice, but is just beginning to prove herself, constructing her first garment entirely on her own.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
A nearby dry cleaner said the price of plastic garment covers had more than doubled, while a cafe owner noted a 50-percent increase in the cost of plastic cups.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
The garment is on display in the Air and Space Museum's "Futures in Space" gallery, alongside different objects, including toys, games and movie posters.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
On June 6, 2025, federal agents raided a downtown garment business, detaining workers and arresting labor leader David Huerta, head of Service Employees International Union California.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
We drove down the street and crossed the bridge and passed the house where the pink garment hung in the window.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
With spinning, weaving, dyeing and knitting facilities -- the Glo-Djigbe site exported its first garments in 2024 for the French retailer Kiabi, followed by other international brands such as US Polo.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Upfront payments for blank garments often come due before major customers settle their invoices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
At the Rick Owens show, Rick-heads made minimal weather-restrictive tweaks to their usual uniforms — platforms, leather, ground-grazing garments — making you appreciate the beauty in that level of ascetic dedication.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
The legislation targets ultra-fast fashion based on two criteria: the volume of clothing placed on the market and the cost of repairing garments relative to their purchase price.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
“Spinners can make six different kinds of silk, some sticky, some soft as Boots’s skin. They make our garments as well.”
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
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.
