- present participle of clothe.
clothing
Americannoun
-
garments collectively
-
something that covers or clothes
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of clothing
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English; clothe + -ing 1
Compare meaning
How does clothing compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Clothing is what your wear, like sweaters, shirts, pants, dresses, and so on. Your favorite piece of clothing might be your purple polka dotted tights. Clothing is made of fabric and covers our bodies, keeps them warm or protects them from the sun, insects, sharp rocks and thorns, and other hazards. In some situations, clothing keeps people safe, as when medical workers wear scrubs, gloves, and masks to protect themselves and patients from infection. Often clothing reflects your personal values or religion, like a Muslim woman's hijab that covers her hair. The Old English root is claþ, "cloth or woven material."
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 jokes that it looks like one of her clothing sculptures has “exploded across a room.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Roughly every six weeks, she orders three or four new pieces of clothing from the retailer, she says.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
In Durban's Chatsworth industrial area, a manager at a clothing factory said the departure of skilled machinists from Malawi and Mozambique had left factories struggling to meet orders.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
The small chain, which prides itself on sustainability efforts, also has a bin in the lobby to donate clothing you don’t want to pack to bring home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Officers and men alike shared their trenches with rats and frogs, with slugs and horned beetles that burrowed into the trench walls, with lice that infested every man’s clothing.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
