noun
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(often plural) an article of clothing
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outer covering
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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regarmentverb (used with object)
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garmentlessadjective
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ungarmentedadjective
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well-garmentedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
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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.
See Examples For:
Gold and silver inlay work and green agate stones complete the garment.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
It is believed the NBA legend wore the garment during the 1972 Finals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
For example, an Indian garment exporter must actively tell a UK buyer that the import duty on shirts has fallen from 12% to zero and renegotiate prices or contracts accordingly.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
He blunders on Warren Buffett, stating that his company, Berkshire Hathaway, hasn’t made a garment “in over fifty years,” but the company only closed its textile operations 41 years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Basta took off his jacket and went slowly over to the window, holding the garment in his left hand.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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When I defended the author and the decision to run his op-ed, there was more rending of garments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
“It’s not about garments coming across the border and putting a new label on it.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
The garments that they could not find, such as Bessette’s wedding dress, her rehearsal dinner dress and a tan and black ruffle coat from Yamamoto, they re-created using historical images and input from the designers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Schoolwear Association says the plans could mean parents spend more on replacing lower-quality generic garments, which might not last as long as branded ones.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
His beard, very long and forked, was white, nearly as white as the snow-white cloth of his garments.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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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.