suspender
Americannoun
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suspenders
plural
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especially British, braces. Usually suspenders. adjustable straps or bands worn over the shoulders with the ends buttoned or clipped to the waistband of a pair of trousers or a skirt to support it.
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British. garter.
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a hanging cable or chain in a suspension bridge connecting the deck with the suspension cable or chain.
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a person or thing that suspends.
noun
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(often plural)
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an elastic strap attached to a belt or corset having a fastener at the end, for holding up women's stockings
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US and Canadian equivalent: garter. a similar fastener attached to a garter worn by men in order to support socks
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): braces. (plural) a pair of straps worn over the shoulders by men for holding up the trousers
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a person or thing that suspends, such as one of the vertical cables that carries the deck in a suspension bridge
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of suspender
1515–25; 1800–10, suspender for def. 1; suspend + -er 1
Explanation
A suspender is a strap that holds your pants up. If your jeans are too big for you, you might try wearing some colorful suspenders. Suspenders almost always come in a pair. They are an alternative to a belt—instead of looping around your waist, suspenders are worn over your shoulders, clipping to the waistband of your pants at the front and the back. Suspenders is an American English word, coined in the early 19th century from the verb suspend, "to hang."
Vocabulary lists containing suspender
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:
The Oscars ceremony included a performance of the song, with its rapid-kick choreography and roguish suspender snapping.
From New York Times ● Mar. 12, 2023
Badu wore a black silk duchess gown with white satin buttons, sportcoat and suspender skirt.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2021
On a tour of its green, al fresco campus, wearing True Religion overalls with one suspender undone and black hightop Chuck Taylors, she looked at ease and made everyone around her feel the same.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 2018
He pops open the flip phone stored in the shirt pocket between his suspender straps and calls the number for a voicemail set up specifically for this purpose.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 19, 2015
His costume was high-topped shoes and old-time britches held up by one suspender.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
Its Intel profits alone would make Gordon Gekko hang up his suspenders.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
Looped into the traction and stability systems and the smartest brakes on the planet, the Turbo S’s high-voltage suspenders represent a major advance in client preservation technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
A family of boys in suspenders appears; behind them are sandbags displaying paper targets with human outlines.
From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2024
“Trump’s lawyers are taking a belt and suspenders approach to his cases,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Salon.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2024
But then I saw a tall fellow loping toward me, wearing broad blue suspenders and a floppy straw hat.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
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.
