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Synonyms

clothes

American  
[klohz, klohthz] / kloʊz, kloʊðz /

plural noun

  1. garments for the body; articles of dress; wearing apparel.

    Synonyms:
    garb, costume, raiment, attire, clothing

  2. bedclothes.

clothes British  
/ kləʊðz /

plural noun

    1. articles of dress

    2. ( as modifier )

      clothes brush

  2. short for bedclothes

"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

Usage

Spelling tips for clothes The word clothes is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it sounds like the verb close, but it is spelled differently. Also, the word clothes is different from the plural of cloth (cloths), but the two are easily confused for one another. How to spell clothes: You aren't finished putting on clothes until you've tied Each Shoe (-es). Remembering that you need Each Shoe, or -es, at the end to finish getting dressed can help you spell clothes correctly.

Etymology

Origin of clothes

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English clāthas, plural of clāth cloth

Compare meaning

How does clothes compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Explanation

Clothes rhymes with "nose," and your nose is one of the few body parts you don't often cover with clothes. Pants, shirts, and coats are types of clothes. Clothes comes from the word cloth — it's true: Most clothes are made of cloth, or fabric. Whether you wear suits, uniforms, or jeans, clothes cover the body, just as bed clothes is a term for the sheets and blankets that cover a bed. You can show your style with the clothes you wear, or you might just throw on whatever clothes are clean (or sort of clean) and available.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing clothes

Spelling Practice, Unit 1

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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.

She could smell the scent in her clothes and hair as she got off the plane.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

He’ll be able to wear those clothes, look at the initials on them, and say, “These were my dad’s. And I loved him.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

"I haven't been buying clothes like that ever since I've been on tour," she said.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

The 32-year-old clothier regularly navigates chaotic traffic to deliver luxury clothes and footwear to customers across the megacity of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

So I hang my clothes to dry and make tea.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

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.