Meaning & use
culotte
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Meanings
nounusually plural
A woman's pair of wide, loose trousers that flare out and look somewhat like a skirt.
Grammar: Almost always used in the plural 'culottes' to mean the garment; the singular 'culotte' is uncommon in this sense.
Patterns
- a pair of culottes
- wear culottes
- culottes with a top
She wore black culottes and a white blouse to the meeting.
Culottes are comfortable because they are wide but still look formal.
The fashion magazine showed how to style culottes for summer.
nouncountableold-fashioned
A historical garment consisting of close-fitting trousers, especially as worn by men in the past.
Grammar: In this historical sense, the singular 'culotte' can be used, but it is rare and mostly appears in texts about the past.
Patterns
- wear a culotte
- a pair of culottes
The museum displayed a culotte worn by a French nobleman in the 1700s.
In the past, a culotte was a tight-fitting garment for the lower body.
Word forms
| plural | culottes |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pair of culottes
- She packed a pair of culottes for the trip.
- wide-leg culottes
- Wide-leg culottes are back in fashion this year.
- wear culottes
- He decided to wear culottes to the casual party.
- culottes and a blouse
- The outfit was simple: culottes and a blouse.
Synonyms and how they differ
- palazzo pants
- These are also wide-legged trousers, but usually even wider and more formal than culottes.
- gauchos
- Similar wide trousers, but often shorter and more casual; 'culottes' can be any length.
Commonly confused: culotte or cullotes?
culotte vs cullotes
This is a common misspelling. The correct spelling is 'culottes' with one 'l' and two 't's.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'culottes' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Culottes' are wide-legged trousers, so option An is correct. Option B confuses them with a vegetable, option C with a car, and option D with a hat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “culotte”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.