union suit

American  

noun

1. a close-fitting, knitted undergarment combining shirt and drawers in one piece and often having a drop seat.

---

Etymology

Origin of union suit

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Hanes capitalized on the union suit market, Golcomb's efforts became the sportswear company Everlast, and Kneibler's briefs inspired Cooper to change its name to Jockey.

From National Geographic • Jan. 9, 2024

It sure beats racing through the yard on a cold night, trying to wiggle out of a scratchy union suit just to use the spider-infested outhouse in the pitch-black dark.

From Washington Times • Dec. 12, 2022

Copp may be the reason that my wife and her siblings and both our children have always had good vocabularies: destitute, vituperative, locality, inauspicious, gauche, megalomaniac, union suit.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 12, 2018

I’ve tried a number of styles over the years, including, once, a full-on footed union suit.

From Slate • Jan. 25, 2012

Grandpa walked over to the washstand and poured some water into the big flowerdy bowl, but I just pulled off down to my union suit and turned back the covers.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns