pants
Americannoun
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underpants, especially for women and children; panties.
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British. men's underpants, especially long drawers.
idioms
plural noun
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an undergarment reaching from the waist to the thighs or knees
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Also called: trousers. a garment shaped to cover the body from the waist to the ankles or knees with separate tube-shaped sections for both legs
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informal to bore extremely
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informal to scare extremely
adjective
Usage
What is a basic definition of pants? Pants are an article of clothing that extends from the waist to around the ankles and fits around each leg.Also known as trousers, pants are worn by people of all genders and ages. As opposed to a dress or a skirt, pants are divided down the middle and have openings for each leg. The fabric of pants wrap around each leg and usually extends to the ankles or at least past the knees.A single item of this clothing is called “a pair of pants” and multiple items are called “pairs of pants.” This article of clothing is never referred to as a “pant.”Pants is a general term for this type of clothing and is further divided into other specific kinds of pants, depending on fabric and cut. Jeans are pants made out of denim or corduroy, while leggings are close-fitting pants, often made out of a stretchy material like spandex.An article of clothing that is identical to pants but stops at or before the knee is referred to as a pair of shorts.
- Used in a sentence: She bought three new pairs of pants to wear with her new sweater.
Etymology
Origin of pants
1830–40; short for pantaloons
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.
If Mom had looked more closely, she would have seen that his knit caps were in with his long pants and his sweaters, because he always wore those things together on cold days.
From Literature
Remembering what Julio had told him, the boy knocked once more, counting to thirty, hoping it might give me enough time to pull up my pants or finish pooping.
From Literature
He was tall and looked fit for his age in a light cotton smock and pants.
From Literature
“I’m not as light as you,” Dad pants.
From Literature
Michael LeTourneau, who runs Porterhouse Construction in Denver, said his Brunt pants are more stretchy than the stiff canvas pants he used to wear.
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.
