Synonyms

chaps

American

[chaps, shaps] / tʃæps, ʃæps /

noun

(used with a plural verb)

a pair of joined leather leggings, often widely flared, worn over trousers, especially by cowboys, as protection against burs, rope burns, etc., while on horseback.

chaps British

/ tʃæps, ʃæps /

plural noun

Also called: chaparejos. chaparajos. leather overalls without a seat, worn by cowboys

"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 chaps

1810–20, short for chaparajos

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.

And I feel like it's episode 5, and I bet everybody thought, "Oh are they gonna run in just as the chap's about to lash him?"

From Salon • Feb. 21, 2022

Their pitches to primary voters therefore stress their personalities, their achievements and the other chap’s flaws.

From Economist • Jul. 17, 2014

Once a chap's got one jacket, he's unlikely ever to need a replacement.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2013

I remember Peter actually standing on a chap's head from another paper as he leapt over some stairs in a rooming house in Chelsea where some heiress and a fortune hunter had gone.

From The Guardian • Jul. 30, 2011

I was introduced to the Irish chap’s friends and we formed a “gang” of Irish, Jewish, and Negro wits who poked fun at government, the masses, statesmen, and political parties.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

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