cloth

American  

[klawth, kloth] / klɔθ, klɒθ /

noun

plural

cloths

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

2. a piece of such a fabric for a particular purpose.

   an altar cloth.

3. the particular attire of any profession, especially that of the clergy.

4. the cloth, the clergy.

   men of the cloth.

5. Nautical.

   1. one of the lengths of canvas or duck of standard width sewn side by side to form a sail, awning, or tarpaulin.

   2. any of various pieces of canvas or duck for reinforcing certain areas of a sail.

   3. a number of sails taken as a whole.

6. Obsolete. a garment; clothing.

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adjective

1. of or made of cloth.

   She wore a cloth coat trimmed with fur.

2. clothbound.

cloth British  

/ klɒθ /

noun

1. 1. a fabric formed by weaving, felting or knitting wool, cotton, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cloth bag

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

3. 1. the clothes worn by a clergyman

   2. the clergy

4. obsolete clothing

5. nautical any of the panels of a sail

6. a piece of coloured fabric, used on the stage as scenery

7. a garment in a traditional non-European style

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cloth Idioms  

1. see out of whole cloth; sackcloth and ashes.

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Other Word Forms

• clothlike adjective
• undercloth noun

Etymology

Origin of cloth

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

Example Sentences

Some rayographs, in which simple things—gears, tools, eggs, ferns, glass, cloth—magically transform, are otherworldly.

From The Wall Street Journal

Her family said the verdict was based on extremely limited and unreliable evidence: a piece of cloth bearing the words "Woman, Resistance, Freedom", and an unpublished audio message.

From BBC

In the lower half, Marat reclines in a coffin-like bath, topped with a board and a green cloth.

From The Wall Street Journal

You are running your own race, and have likely cut your cloth according to your needs.

From MarketWatch

As rain pounded the cloth of her makeshift tent in central Gaza one night recently, Jihan Khalaf kept watch with a flashlight to ensure her three children didn’t drown in their sleep.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cotton
• goods
• material
• stuff