off-the-rack

[ awf-thuh-rak, of- ]

adjective

1. (of clothing) not made to specific or individual requirements; ready-made:

   off-the-rack men's suits.

2. Slang. off-the-wall.

Word History and Origins

Origin of off-the-rack¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Idioms and Phrases

Ready-made, as in She has all her clothes made; she never buys a dress off the rack . The rack here is a frame from which clothes are hung. [Mid-1900s] A British synonym is off the peg , similarly alluding to a knob from which clothes are hung and dating from the late 1800s. Also see off the shelf .

Example Sentences

Kate speaks rarely, smiles, and wears pretty clothes which—if they are off-the-rack—then sell out.

From The Daily Beast

We settled in, three armed strangers, in our off-the-rack suits and bullet-resistant vests.

From The Daily Beast

Clarkson wears four-inch Gucci sandals, a chic, black, off-the-rack Italian dress and red Hanky Panky underwear (so she says).

From The Daily Beast