ill-fitting
Americanadjective
-
(of a garment) not fitting well.
-
not appropriate or suitable.
Etymology
Origin of ill-fitting
First recorded in 1865–70; ill ( def. ) + fitting ( def. )
Explanation
Clothes that are ill-fitting are too big or too small — or maybe too big in some places, and too small in others. Your ill-fitting pants may require a belt to keep them from falling down. An ill-fitting dress might be too short and too tight in the arms, and an ill-fitting suit might be big enough to fit two of you. When something fits, it's the proper size and shape for your body, and when it doesn't fit, it's ill-fitting. This adjective combines ill-, "badly" or "not well," with fitting, from the verb fit, "be fitting or proper" and "be the right shape."
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.
Fuentes is a dweeby kid in an ill-fitting suit, with none of the congenial charms of Joe Rogan or masculine swagger of Andrew Tate.
From Slate • Dec. 5, 2025
Miss Halsall's proposal has been backed by Lincolnshire football club Sleaford Town Juniors, which runs five girls' teams and educates players about the risk of wearing ill-fitting bras.
From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025
And she ordered a dozen ill-fitting vacation outfits on Shein.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
In others, he’s an imp hiding within an ill-fitting costume of normalcy.
From Salon • Oct. 13, 2025
It was a surprisingly new-looking door, modem and ill-fitting in a place that otherwise seemed so historic.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
