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Meaning & use

clothes

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/kləʊðz/
US/kloʊðz/

Meaning

  1. nounplural

    Things that people wear to cover or protect the body, such as shirts, coats, trousers, socks, and dresses.

    Grammar: It has no singular; say a piece of clothing or an item of clothing for one thing.

    Patterns

    • wear clothes
    • put on clothes
    • change clothes
    • warm clothes

    She hung the wet clothes near the heater.

    Pack comfortable clothes for the train journey.

Common combinations

casual clothes
Casual clothes are fine for the rehearsal dinner.
warm clothes
Bring warm clothes because the evenings turn cold.
change clothes
The children changed clothes after playing outside.
fold clothes
I fold clothes while listening to music.

Synonyms and how they differ

clothing
Clothing is uncountable and more general or formal; clothes sounds more everyday.
garments
Garments is formal and often refers to single made pieces rather than everything someone wears.
attire
Attire is formal or literary and suggests a style of dress for an occasion.

Word family

clothe verb
To dress someone or provide clothes; formal compared with dress.
clothing noun
The uncountable general word for things worn.

Commonly confused: clothes or cloth?

clothes vs cloth

Cloth is material used for making things, while clothes are worn items; cloths is the plural of cloth.

Practice

Which sentence is correct for one shirt?

Make it your own

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