Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for "plainclothes"
Search instead for plainclothed.

plainclothes

American  
[playn-klohz, -klohthz] / ˈpleɪnˌkloʊz, -ˌkloʊðz /

adjective

  1. wearing civilian clothing, or plain clothes, instead of a uniform, especially of police officers on duty.


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:

As plainclothes detective Tony Baretta, he swaggered through four gritty seasons in muscle shirts and a newsboy cap, with a snappy street patter and a pet cockatoo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

A large cordon is in place and a forensics officer, fire investigation dogs and several plainclothes officers were working at the scene.

From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026

A fourth, an Israeli El Al flight, was saved by plainclothes Israeli air marshals who had been placed on board as a new security measure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 2026

"For example, the faces, voices, and names of undercover officers conducting operations in plainclothes are not obscured," the complaint alleges.

From Barron's ● Jan. 22, 2026

The plainclothes police officer handed him a fifty-cent piece and pointed.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training