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
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.
"Clothe him—wrapped in this splendid robe he will play his part well before the people."
From King of the Jews A story of Christ's last days on Earth by Stead, William T.
Who bade the Sun Clothe you with rainbows?
From Vocal Expression A Class-book of Voice Training and Interpretation by Everts, Katherine Jewell
Clothe it, arm it, feed it, provide it with all necessaries and contingencies, and I will pay the piper!
From Reprinted Pieces by Dickens, Charles
Clothe thyself with the essence of righteousness, and let thine heart be afraid of none except God.
From Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh by Bahá'u'lláh
Thus, with somewhat of the Seer, Must the moral pioneer From the Future borrow; Clothe the waste with dreams of grain, And, on midnight’s sky of rain, Paint the golden morrow!
From The Law and the Poor by Parry, Edward Abbott
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.
