cloth

[ klawth, kloth ]

/ klɔθ, klɒθ /

Save This Word!

noun, plural cloths

[klawthz, klothz, klawths, kloths]. /klɔðz, klɒðz, klɔθs, klɒθs/.

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

a piece of such a fabric for a particular purpose: an altar cloth.

the particular attire of any profession, especially that of the clergy.Compare man of the cloth.

the cloth, the clergy: men of the cloth.

Nautical.

one of the lengths of canvas or duck of standard width sewn side by side to form a sail, awning, or tarpaulin.
any of various pieces of canvas or duck for reinforcing certain areas of a sail.
a number of sails taken as a whole.

Obsolete. a garment; clothing.

adjective

of or made of cloth: She wore a cloth coat trimmed with fur.

clothbound.

QUIZ

GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!

Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.

Question 1 of 9

Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of cloth

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

OTHER WORDS FROM cloth

clothlike, adjectiveun·der·cloth, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH cloth

cloth , clothe, clothes

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cloth in a sentence

Mini Boden Large Muslin Swaddling Cloths, $40 at Nordstrom 8.
The Daily Beast's 2013 Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide|The Daily Beast|November 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We set to our task with a deliberate gentleness, dabbing with cloths, cotton, swabs.
Inside a Home Funeral|Melissa Roberts Weidman|February 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Dish cloths are rough enough to scrub your cutting board well.
The Dirty Truth About Cutting Boards|Chad Ward|September 1, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The women had on long dresses made of orange, black, and green African Kente cloths with matching headdresses.
Red, White, and Muslim|Asma Gull Hasan|February 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST

I can recommend strollers, changing tables, potties, burp cloths.
When Did "Married Without Children" Become Gauche?|Rachel Shukert|November 15, 2008|DAILY BEAST
The Malays wore long cloths wound round their bodies, with one end hanging over their shoulder.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
Then she wet cloths in the cool water of the brook and laid them across her little sister's hot forehead.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
Jess agreed, and together the two older children kept changing the cool cloths on Violet's aching head.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner
The table-cloths and napkins were of cotton diaper, and there was a good deal of plate used, but not displayed.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
He gone my brother Tom comes, with whom I made even with my father and the two drapers for the cloths I sent to sea lately.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete|Samuel Pepys

British Dictionary definitions for cloth

cloth

/ (klɒθ) /

noun plural cloths (klɒθs, klɒðz)

a fabric formed by weaving, felting or knitting wool, cotton, etc
(as modifier)a cloth bag

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

the cloth

the clothes worn by a clergyman
the clergy

obsolete clothing

nautical any of the panels of a sail

mainly British a piece of coloured fabric, used on the stage as scenery

Western African a garment in a traditional non-European style

Word Origin for cloth

Old English clāth; related to Old Frisian klēth, Middle High German kleit cloth, clothing

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with cloth

cloth

see out of whole cloth; sackcloth and ashes.

cloth

Origin of cloth

OTHER WORDS FROM cloth

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH cloth

Words related to cloth

How to use cloth in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cloth

Word Origin for cloth

Other Idioms and Phrases with cloth