knickerbockers
Britishplural noun
Etymology
Origin of knickerbockers
C19: regarded as the traditional dress of the Dutch settlers in America; see Knickerbocker
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.
Bensmann offers different cuts of Bavarian lederhosen, traditional knee-longs, short ones that end mid-thigh and longer, looser knickerbockers.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2023
This image, of a fair-haired child dressed as a page boy, in cape and knickerbockers, adorns the cover of the American edition of Sebald’s novel.
From The New Yorker • May 29, 2017
These days, you don’t need goosed-up threats of nicotine stains and rebuckled knickerbockers to rouse the anxieties of parents.
From New York Times • Nov. 19, 2016
Photograph: H Armstrong Roberts/Corbis In early 20th century, shorts emerged exclusively as attire for boys: boys in “short trousers”, instead of knickerbockers, began appearing in photos in the 1920s.
From The Guardian • Jun. 7, 2015
Smeltings boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
![]()
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.