plural noun
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articles of dress
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( as modifier )
clothes brush
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short for bedclothes
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.
Vocabulary lists containing clothes
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.
Over the years, I’ve tested many theories of what’s wrong with the U.S. media—groupthink, the emperor’s new clothes, availability bias.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Zegna’s clothes offered clothing in vibrant, carnival colors that reminded me of the turning of the seasons, of moments of change.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
It’s something I used to do on vacation, especially in my early 20s — change clothes before the hotel check-in, before the trip had technically begun.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
Officials are watching closely to see if higher energy prices push up the cost of goods in particular — food, clothes, consumer electronics, appliances and so forth.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026
Wind foamed the sea, rocked the boat, and whipped at their clothes as they strained to get ashore.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
