clothe
Americanverb
-
to dress or attire (a person)
-
to provide with clothing or covering
-
to conceal or disguise
-
to endow or invest
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
preclotheverb (used with object)
-
reclotheverb (used with object)
-
half-clothedadjective
-
underclothedadjective
-
well-clothedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
clothesimple
-
clothessimple
-
have cladperfect
-
have clothedperfect
-
has cladperfect
-
has clothedperfect
-
am clothingprogressive
-
are clothingprogressive
-
is clothingprogressive
-
have been clothingperfect progressive
-
has been clothingperfect progressive
Past
-
clothedsimple
-
had cladperfect
-
had clothedperfect
-
was clothingprogressive
-
were clothingprogressive
-
had been clothingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clothe
before 950; Middle English clothen, Old English clāthian, derivative of clāth cloth
Explanation
To clothe someone is to give them something to wear, or to dress them in clothing. If you clothe your dog in cute outfits, you may traumatize him for life. You can clothe yourself, or someone else — for example, you might clothe yourself in black for a relative's funeral or clothe yourself in sequins and feathers for the school dance. You can also figuratively clothe someone or something, lending them a sense of power or respectability. Clothe shares a root with clothing and cloth, the Old English claþ, "cloth or sail," and also "woven material to wrap around oneself."
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.
See Examples For:
“If I have money, I can dream of many things. But if I have no money, how do we eat? How do we clothe ourselves? Where would we live?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
I take the injunction to welcome the stranger and to feed and clothe very seriously.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2024
Christ emphasized the imperative: Feed and clothe the least of these brothers and sisters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2024
“Not only is food very expensive, but school supplies have also doubled in price. I also have to clothe my children and, above all, deal with their illnesses,” the 65-year-old said.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023
To clothe the migrants, he circumvents Mexican Customs, which inspects cars and confiscates used clothing coming into the country, in what Padre Leo believes is an attempt to protect Mexican clothing manufacturers.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
So, in the middle of Minnesota winter, she started taking her clothes off in the entryway and throwing them on the front step.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Fruit, juices, clothes, shoes, peanuts -- Lobe Sarr has turned her hand to various wares over the last 15 years, finally settling on a small street eatery in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
The unlikely pair met in the early 70s when Best had a line of children's clothes and Sir Paul worked for the company which designed them.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Osaka took the court wearing a long, hooded gown — possibly inspired by Iverson’s hoodies and baggy clothes from back in the day — with newspaper clippings about her attached to it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
A pile of clothes was heaped outside in the hallway; on top lay Nollie’s blue sweater.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
So it may surprise some that Talbot’s favorite scene from “Love Story” involves both Kelly and Pidgeon fully clothed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
It's probably fair to say that most of us have never slapped someone so hard with a wet fish that they fall, fully clothed, into a swimming pool.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Over the course of American history, women have been expected to do whatever work is necessary to keep their families fed, clothed and sheltered in sanitary homes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
“We love to do what we do on farms — keeping people fed, clothed and moving. But we have to be able to make ends meet so we can keep operating.”
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026
When he wasn’t rowing, studying, or sleeping, he was working, and just barely keeping himself clothed and fed doing it. joe found it comfortable to be around McMillin.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
Chloe, a Labrador mix, is one of 15 dogs being coached by the startup, clad in customised data-gathering helmets.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
During the climb, the pair, clad in black outfits with their faces covered, unfurled a banner that read: "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace."
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
My stomach was in knots as I pictured myself clad in a lemon chiffon dress looking like a dollop of meringue, doing the Viennese waltz — something resembling a Centrum Silver commercial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Anderson, who had briefly worked as an actress in Hollywood, was a stunning blond socialite, clad in a black cocktail dress, with a penchant for impromptu dance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
But they have not yet been allowed to cross the River, and Saruman does not know of this new shape in which the Ringwraiths have been clad.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Lands’ End marketing is showing up around college football games this fall as the clothing chain aims to reach new shoppers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Thousands of families saved money on school uniforms this summer through a charity scheme providing pre-loved and donated clothing for free.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
Dry-cleaned clothing, for example, can gradually release small amounts of the chemical into the surrounding air over time.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Any citizen who steps out of line risks the ire of an even dumber police force, riding around in cruisers that lift their design language from Ed Hardy clothing.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Hands that would inherit a successful business, one that sold clothing, and yet did not even know how to sew.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
