swaddling clothes

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plural noun

clothes consisting of long, narrow strips of cloth for swaddling an infant.

long garments for an infant.

the period of infancy or immaturity, as of a person, or incipience, as of a thing: Nuclear energy is still in its swaddling clothes.

rigid supervision or restriction of actions or movements, as of the immature: new nations that are freeing themselves of their swaddling clothes.

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Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Also called swaddling bands (for defs. 1, 2).

Origin of swaddling clothes

First recorded in 1525–35

Words nearby swaddling clothes

swabby, Swabia, Swabian, swacked, swaddle, swaddling clothes, swaddy, Swadeshi, Swados, swag, swage

How to use swaddling clothes in a sentence

Growing up as a teen in the 1960s, she had yearned to wear the same clothes her girlfriends wore.
Inside A Finishing School for Transwomen|Sharon Adarlo|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her daughter, Elaina, 24, a trained costume designer and makeup artist, helps out by sewing clothes.
Inside A Finishing School for Transwomen|Sharon Adarlo|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
BEIRUT—It is December, but Sabrine Omar is still wearing her summer clothes.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They dye their hair and alter their clothes, but not enough to attract attention from authorities.
North Korea’s Secret Movie Bootleggers: How Western Films Make It Into the Hermit Kingdom|Lizzie Crocker|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In St. Louis, I believe, for a change of clothes and to go to a nightclub.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At this same time they seized in Nangasaqui a servant of the father provincial, Matheo Couros, who was washing his clothes.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
Not a dollar did he possess—not even did he have a suit of clothes any more, and wore every day his corduroys.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
For six days Mamma wept at intervals, and showed the woman in black all Punch's clothes—a liberty which Punch resented.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
Little boys when decking themselves out with tall hat and monstrously big clothes seem to be trying to put on an alarming aspect.
Children's Ways|James Sully
The door opened and a plain clothes detective entered the office.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for swaddling clothes

swaddling clothes

pl n

long strips of linen or other cloth formerly wrapped round a newly born baby

restrictions or supervision imposed on the immature

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

swaddling clothes

Origin of swaddling clothes

Words nearby swaddling clothes

Words related to swaddling clothes

How to use swaddling clothes in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for swaddling clothes