civilian clothes
Americanplural noun
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everyday or ordinary clothing, as distinguished from a military uniform.
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Informal. ordinary clothing as distinguished from a uniform, clerical garb, or work clothes.
Etymology
Origin of civilian clothes
First recorded in 1885–90
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.
Carrying backpacks and duffel bags, and wearing civilian clothes, crew members smiled and waved at a small crowd that had assembled to meet them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Corporal Ismaila Ceesay, a 28-year-old information management specialist from Stratford, east London, said part of the exercise was arriving in civilian clothes and changing into uniform only once through the secure barriers.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
When Johannes Høesflot Klæbo strolls down Sixth Avenue in civilian clothes, he could pass for any number of New York City’s better-looking characters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
Machado said a group of heavily armed men in civilian clothes seized Juan Pablo Guanipa, 61, in the Los Chorros district of Caracas.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
Who was this German boy, old enough to be in the Wehrmacht, yet dressed in civilian clothes?
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
