cloth

[ klawth, kloth ]

/ klɔθ, klɒθ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cloth ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural cloths [klawth z, kloth z, klawths, kloths] /klɔðz, klɒðz, klɔθs, klɒθs/.

a fabric formed by weaving, felting, etc., from wool, hair, silk, flax, cotton, or other fiber, used for garments, upholstery, and many other items.

a piece of such a fabric for a particular purpose: an altar cloth.

the particular attire of any profession, especially that of the clergy.Compare man of the cloth.

the cloth, the clergy: men of the cloth.

Nautical.

one of the lengths of canvas or duck of standard width sewn side by side to form a sail, awning, or tarpaulin.
any of various pieces of canvas or duck for reinforcing certain areas of a sail.
a number of sails taken as a whole.

Obsolete. a garment; clothing.

adjective

of or made of cloth: She wore a cloth coat trimmed with fur.

clothbound.

Nearby words

clostridium perfringens, clostridium tetani, closure, closure principle, clot, cloth, cloth cap, cloth of gold, cloth roll, cloth yard, cloth-cap

Origin of cloth

before 900; Middle English cloth, clath cloth, garment, Old English clāth; cognate with Dutch kleed, German Kleid

Related forms

cloth·like, adjectiveun·der·cloth, noun

Can be confused

cloth clothe clothes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cloth

Paper and cloth are cheap, what people are paying for is the story.
Glenn Beck Is Now Selling Hipster Clothes. Really.|Ana Marie Cox|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No piece of cloth throughout history has sparked more controversy as the veil.
Saudi Activist Manal Al-Sharif on Why She Removed the Veil|Manal Al Sharif, Advancing Human Rights|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Novelty aside, the real question is whether these avowedly chaste men of the cloth are listening.
The Vatican's Same-Sex Synod: The Bishops Hear About Reality. Do They Listen?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|October 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead, Ernst is seen as a “likable, relatable person” who is cut “from the cloth of small-town Iowa.”
The Bruce Braley-Joni Ernst Race Is Iowa’s Ugliest Senate Campaign Ever|Ben Jacobs|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

My nostrils have smelt the horrors of the (cloth) diaper pail.
Why Men Shouldn’t Wait To Have Kids|Conor P. Williams|March 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The cloth is to be next washed in the river; and lastly with water only, in the fulling mill.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
She whisked off with her cloth to the screen, deposited it, reappeared.
A Sheaf of Corn|Mary E. Mann
Having lost the old Gospel, the men of the cloth became eager exponents of the “social gospel” of that day.
Hymns and Hymnwriters of Denmark|Jens Christian Aaberg
But meteor detectors are built to look for solid chunks of metal and rock—not thin, porous bits of cloth.
Hanging by a Thread|Gordon Randall Garrett
Two pails of water flanked this rack, in each of which had been thrust a slotted hickory "wiper" threaded with a square of cloth.
The Adventures of Bobby Orde|Stewart Edward White

British Dictionary definitions for cloth

cloth

/ (klɒθ) /

noun plural cloths (klɒθs, klɒðz)

a fabric formed by weaving, felting or knitting wool, cotton, etc
(as modifier)a cloth bag

a piece of such fabric used for a particular purpose, as for a dishcloth

the cloth

the clothes worn by a clergyman
the clergy

obsolete clothing

nautical any of the panels of a sail

mainly British a piece of coloured fabric, used on the stage as scenery

Western African a garment in a traditional non-European style

Word Origin for cloth

Old English clāth; related to Old Frisian klēth, Middle High German kleit cloth, clothing

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

Idioms and Phrases with cloth

cloth

see out of whole cloth; sackcloth and ashes.

cloth

noun, plural cloths [klawth z, kloth z, klawths, kloths] /klɔðz, klɒðz, klɔθs, klɒθs/.

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of cloth

Related forms

Can be confused

Examples from the Web for cloth

British Dictionary definitions for cloth

cloth

noun plural cloths (klɒθs, klɒðz)

Word Origin for cloth

Idioms and Phrases with cloth

cloth