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plainclothesman
or plain·clothes man
[ pleyn-klohz-muhn, -man, -klohthz- ]
/ ˈpleɪnˈkloʊz mən, -ˌmæn, -ˈkloʊðz- /
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noun, plural plain·clothes·men [pleyn-klohz-muhn, -men, -klohthz-]. /ˈpleɪnˈkloʊz mən, -ˌmɛn, -ˈkloʊðz-/.
a police officer, especially a detective, who wears ordinary civilian clothes while on duty.
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Origin of plainclothesman
First recorded in 1925–30; plain clothes + man
Words nearby plainclothesman
plain as day, plain bearing, plainchant, plain chocolate, plain clothes, plainclothesman, plain dealing, Plainfield, plain film, plain flour, plain Jane
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022