noun
-
(often plural) an article of clothing
-
outer covering
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of garment
1300–50; Middle English garnement < Old French garniment, equivalent to garni ( r ) to garnish + -ment -ment
Explanation
A garment is a piece of clothing. The area of New York City where clothes are manufactured is known as the Garment District. Derived from the French word for "equipment," garment is a somewhat generic term you can use when the specific kind of clothing you're describing is not the point. A dress, for example, is a dress, and pants are pants. They are not the same thing, unless you refer to them both as garments, in which case they are the same thing.
Vocabulary lists containing garment
100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Drama
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What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
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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.
On June 6, 2025, federal agents raided a downtown garment business, detaining workers and arresting labor leader David Huerta, head of Service Employees International Union California.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
During the hajj, men wear a seamless shroud-like white garment that emphasises unity among believers regardless of their social status or nationality.
From Barron's • May 25, 2026
She has to wear a pressure garment for 23 hours a day and sleeps in a splint.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
The garment was also the centerpiece of ads for the collection and showcased the fashion potential of Christian figures.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
His features and skin tone had an Afric leaning, which made the yellow of his garment seem even brighter.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
