clothe
Americanverb
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to dress or attire (a person)
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to provide with clothing or covering
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to conceal or disguise
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to endow or invest
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preclotheverb (used with object)
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reclotheverb (used with object)
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half-clothedadjective
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underclothedadjective
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well-clothedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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clothesimple
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clothessimple
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have cladperfect
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have clothedperfect
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has cladperfect
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has clothedperfect
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am clothingprogressive
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are clothingprogressive
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is clothingprogressive
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have been clothingperfect progressive
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has been clothingperfect progressive
Past
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clothedsimple
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had cladperfect
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had clothedperfect
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was clothingprogressive
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were clothingprogressive
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had been clothingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clothe
before 950; Middle English clothen, Old English clāthian, derivative of clāth cloth
Explanation
To clothe someone is to give them something to wear, or to dress them in clothing. If you clothe your dog in cute outfits, you may traumatize him for life. You can clothe yourself, or someone else — for example, you might clothe yourself in black for a relative's funeral or clothe yourself in sequins and feathers for the school dance. You can also figuratively clothe someone or something, lending them a sense of power or respectability. Clothe shares a root with clothing and cloth, the Old English claþ, "cloth or sail," and also "woven material to wrap around oneself."
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:
This view also drives many advocates of universal basic income—including those believing that the AI-fueled labor market of the future won’t produce jobs that pay wages sufficient to feed, clothe and shelter families.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Feed the hungry, help the poor, heal the sick, house the homeless, clothe the naked, welcome strangers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2024
"In the cost of living crisis, people have struggled to feed and clothe their children," she said.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2024
But he said it was entirely consistent with Francis’ call for artists to engage with the poor and the Gospel mandate to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and visit the incarcerated.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 11, 2024
“We’ll think long and find good names to clothe them.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Millennial women are target customers for many Insta-roe brands—the same demographic that was courted by popular DTC brands in other categories, like Everlane clothes, Glossier makeup and Away luggage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
Instead, Dart watched the second half from the sideline in street clothes, with video appearing to show him telling someone, “They wouldn’t let me come back out.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
To make the doll relevant again, there were life-size Barbie Dream Houses, models sashaying down runways in Barbie clothes at Fashion Week, and, of course, the 2023 “Barbie” movie.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
His clothes and personal effects are dotted round the cramped space, which is paid straight from his Universal Credit.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
‘Do you want new boots, or do we mend yours?’ snapped Oslak’s mate, who was measuring him for winter clothes.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
So it may surprise some that Talbot’s favorite scene from “Love Story” involves both Kelly and Pidgeon fully clothed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
It is clothed and unclothed; decorated and distorted; idealized, stylized, politicized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
“We love to do what we do on farms — keeping people fed, clothed and moving. But we have to be able to make ends meet so we can keep operating.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026
In two of the images he is seen touching the person, who is unidentified and fully clothed, on her stomach.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
He was clothed entirely in black, a black shirt and black pants and high black leather boots.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
After a rousing performance by a white-robe clad vocal collective co-founded by Pharrell Williams, Lucas’ wife Mellody Hobson noted that, “George kept saying, ‘Will this person come?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
Had they been plastered, clad in ceramic, or built in raw concrete, they would have lent tangible weight and heft to the vaults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
"Dolly is like a mother to everyone who lives here," said 24-year-old local Jonah La Grand, clad in a Dolly Parton t-shirt and speaking of her in the present tense.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
The archaeologists built sterile, temporary structures with temperature and humidity controls, and lowered experts clad in head-to-toe medical gowns into the pits atop bedlike platforms so as to minimize contact with the artifacts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
A huge bear of a guy, clad head to toe in leather, swung off the motorcycle.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
Gap will also co-produce a docuseries on the band’s creation and introduce a clothing collection codesigned by the five band members.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
The partnership includes a co-designed clothing collection, store meet-and-greets, a mall music tour and a co-produced docuseries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
"We don't need any more clothing, it's the everyday essentials, formula, nappies, wipes, toiletries," said Kavita.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
This year, the RealReal introduced an AI feature called MyCloset that lets users track the value of all their clothing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“I agree, but what choice do we have? Food, clothing, shelter, cultural diversions . . . it all seems quite necessary to me.”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
