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trousers

American  
[trou-zerz] / ˈtraʊ zərz /

noun

(used with a plural verb)
  1. Also called pants.  Sometimes a usually loose-fitting outer garment for the lower part of the body, having individual leg portions that reach typically to the ankle but sometimes to any of various other points from the upper leg down.

  2. pantalets.


trousers British  
/ ˈtraʊzəz /

plural noun

  1. a garment shaped to cover the body from the waist to the ankles or knees with separate tube-shaped sections for both legs

  2. US equivalent: wear the pantsinformal to have control, esp in a marriage

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of trousers

1585–95; trouse (variant of trews ) + (draw)ers (in the sense “undergarment with legs”)

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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:

In December, she posted a TikTok showing off an oversize crew neck and pajama-like black trousers, playfully captioned “putting the casual in business casual.”

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 23, 2026

Longmore says the tracksuit is "ticking all the boxes", made with recycled materials and "super trending" tapered-leg trousers.

From BBC Jun. 17, 2026

"Athletes' bodies don't look their best in suits, they can look a bit bulky, so trousers can fall a weird way. This look is moving with the times."

From BBC Jun. 17, 2026

Holland wore black trousers, a black jacket, a red dress shirt and black tie while Zendaya donned a strapless black gown with a fringed skirt.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 16, 2026

His trousers were dark brown, jammed into brown boots.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

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