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.
Analysts will be looking at sales of home goods, clothes, and electronics—all things that contribute half of the retailer’s sales.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Not only was he not making money, he was probably losing money, as the cost of living eroded his savings like moths eating clothes stored in the attic.
From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026
Whether you’re playing fútbol, sewing clothes or staging a performance, it’s a physical as well as mental game.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
You can upload a selfie and the mascot will start wearing your clothes and copying your hairstyle.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Uncle Manfred’s clothes were a little on the small side for Peter, we discovered, and the trousers hung loose around his waist, but they were dry, and that was all that mattered.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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.
