clothes
[plural noun]
clothing, apparel, attire, costume, dress, garb, garments, gear (informal), outfit, wardrobe, wear

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Related Words: array, garb, toggery, vestments, vesture, costume, getup, outfit, rig

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English Thesaurus: clothes, clothing, garment, dress, wear, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

clothes S2 W2 /kləʊðz, kləʊz $ kloʊðz, kloʊz/ noun [plural]
[Word Family: noun: clothes, clothing; verb: clothe; adjective: clothed ≠ unclothed]
[Language: Old English; Origin: clathas, plural of clath; ⇒ cloth]
the things that people wear to cover their body or keep warm:
What sort of clothes was he wearing?
I showered and put on clean clothes.
He was still in his work clothes.
a clothes shop ⇒ a change of clothes at change²(6), ⇒ plain-clothes
GRAMMAR
Clothes is a plural noun and has no singular form:
He needed some new clothes (NOT a new clothe/clothes).

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

clothes
noun
ADJ. beautiful, elegant, fancy, fine, lovely, nice, pretty | cheap, expensive | clean, fresh | dirty, dishevelled, ragged, shabby, soiled | tight | baggy, ill-fitting, loose, sloppy | designer, fashionable, trendy | dowdy, nerdy, old-fashioned | second-hand | comfortable, sensible | best, evening, formal, smart He wore his best clothes to the interview.
casual, everyday, ordinary | outrageous, strange, wacky | warm | summer, winter | outdoor, outer | baby, maternity, mourning, night, riding, school, sports, work, working | civilian, plain an officer in plain clothes (= not in uniform)
QUANT. set, suit I'm going to take a set of clean clothes with me. a new suit of clothes for the baby
VERB + CLOTHES put (back) on | remove | change Aren't you going to change your clothes for the party?
make | dry, iron, mend, wash
CLOTHES + NOUN shop | designer | basket | sense
PREP. in ~ She didn't recognize him in his sloppy everyday clothes.
PHRASES a change of clothes

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

clothes

wear clothes
She always wears beautiful clothes.
be dressed in … clothes
The man was dressed in ordinary clothes.
put your clothes on
I told him to get up and put some clothes on.
take off/remove your clothes
She took off her clothes and slipped into bed.
change your clothes
I usually change my clothes as soon as I get home from work.
a change of clothes
He only took a small bag with a change of clothes.
warm clothes
If you’re walking in the mountains, take plenty of warm clothes.
casual clothes
Most people feel more comfortable in casual clothes.
evening clothes
I don’t often have a chance to wear formal evening clothes.
designer clothes (=made by a well-known designer)
She spends hundreds of pounds on designer clothes.
sb’s best clothes
They wore their best clothes for the photograph.
formal clothes
It’s best to wear formal clothes for an interview.
school/work clothes
Work clothes tend to be black, blue, or grey.
sports clothes
Lou was wearing sports clothes and sunglasses.
ordinary/everyday clothes
Everyone else was wearing ordinary clothes.
civilian clothes (=ordinary clothes rather than a military uniform)
a US army lieutenant in civilian clothes
baby clothes
a shop for baby clothes
maternity clothes (=for women who are having a baby)
winter/summer clothes
The shops are already full of winter clothes.
plain clothes (=ordinary clothes that the police wear in order not to be recognized)
He was arrested by officers in plain clothes.
clean clothes
I had no clean clothes.
dry clothes
You’d better change into dry clothes or you’ll get cold.
fashionable/trendy clothes
The club was full of beautiful people wearing trendy clothes.
elegant
Italian people are often admired for their elegant clothes.
old-fashioned
I decided to throw out all my old-fashioned clothes.
smart British English
Do you have to wear smart clothes to work?
scruffy (=dirty and untidy)
She was poor and dressed in scruffy clothes.
second-hand clothes (=not new)
Charity shops sell second-hand clothes at low prices.
dowdy (=unfashionable and unattractive)
Dowdy clothes make you have less confidence in yourself.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

clothes
noun
1.
BAD: The dancers were dressed in their national clothes.
GOOD: The dancers were dressed in their national costume.

Usage Note:
costume = (1) (countable) a set of clothes worn during a performance by an actor, clown, etc: 'She used to work for a theatre company, designing and making costumes.' (2) (uncountable) a set of clothes that are typical of a particular country or historical period: 'The castle guides were dressed up in Elizabethan costume.' 'A group of Hungarian folk dancers came on stage, all wearing national costume.'

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2.
BAD: Don't go out and buy a special clothes.
GOOD: Don't go out and buy any special clothes.

Usage Note:
Clothes is a plural noun: 'I need some new clothes.' (NOT 'a new clothes')

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

clothes noun [plural] things you wear to cover your body or keep you warm. Clothes is always plural:
I like your clothes!
Don’t throw your dirty clothes on the floor!
a clothes shop
clothing noun [uncountable] used when talking in general about a type of clothes, or about making or selling clothes. Also used in the phrase a piece/item/article of clothing (=one of the things that someone wears):
You’ll need to take some warm clothing.
It is important to wear protective clothing at all times.
a clothing manufacturer
a clothing retailer
Police found a piece of clothing in the bushes.
I took a change of clothing with me.
garment noun [countable] formal one thing that you wear. Also used when talking about buying and selling clothes:
a long velvet garment
the garment industry
garment workers
garment factories
dress noun [uncountable] a particular style of clothes. Don’t use dress on its own:
Casual dress is not appropriate for an interview.
men in evening dress
wear noun [uncountable] used about types of clothes sold in a shop, in the following phrases. Don’t use wear on its own:
children’s wear
sports wear
casual wear
gear noun [uncountable] /ɡɪə $ ɡɪr/ informal clothes for a particular sport or activity:
She was wearing her running gear.
Have you got all your gear?
wardrobe noun [singular] all the clothes that you own, or all the clothes that you wear at a particular time of year:
Her wardrobe consisted mainly of smart clothes for work.
I will need a new summer weardrobe.
You could win a complete new wardrobe!
get dressed to put on all your clothes:
You’d better get dressed! It’s almost time to leave for school!
put something on to put on a particular piece of clothing, jewellery etc:
Wait – I just have to put my shoes on!
She was putting on her earrings in front of the mirror.
dress up to put on more formal clothes than you usually wear, or to put on special clothes for fun:
We always used to dress up to go to church.
Paul dressed up as a pirate for the party.
dress yourself to put on your clothes – used when this is difficult for someone because they are very old, young, injured etc:
He’s hurt his arm so badly that he can’t dress himself.
have something on to be wearing a particular piece of clothing, jewellery etc. Have something on is more informal than wear:
I had my new blue top on.
He had on a red tie and a grey jacket.
The boy had nothing on!
be dressed in something especially written used especially in written descriptions when describing the clothes that someone is wearing:
Alistair was dressed in his best suit and tie.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

wear to have a particular piece of clothing or a particular style of clothing on your body:
All visitors must wear a protective helmet.
She always wears black.
Can you tell me what the man was wearing?
have something on to be wearing a particular piece of clothing, jewellery etc. Have something on is more informal than wear:
I had my new blue top on.
He had on a red tie and a grey jacket.
The boy had nothing on!
be dressed in something especially written used especially in written descriptions when describing the clothes that someone is wearing:
Alistair was dressed in his best suit and tie.
evening wear formal (=clothes worn to formal events in the evening)
The band were dressed in evening wear.
casual wear
The company makes stylish casual wear for men and women.
leisure wear
This is leisure wear for active people.
formal wear
Actresses were dressed in everything from formal wear to miniskirts.
bridal wear
a bridal wear shop
maternity wear (=for pregnant women)
The shop sells comfortable and fashionable maternity wear for every occasion.
children’s/men’s/women’s wear
the children’s wear section of the store
designer wear
I can’t afford designer wear.
clothes noun [plural] things you wear to cover your body or keep you warm. Clothes is always plural:
I like your clothes!
Don’t throw your dirty clothes on the floor!
a clothes shop
clothing noun [uncountable] used when talking in general about a type of clothes, or about making or selling clothes. Also used in the phrase a piece/item/article of clothing (=one of the things that someone wears):
You’ll need to take some warm clothing.
It is important to wear protective clothing at all times.
a clothing manufacturer
a clothing retailer
Police found a piece of clothing in the bushes.
I took a change of clothing with me.
garment noun [countable] formal one thing that you wear. Also used when talking about buying and selling clothes:
a long velvet garment
the garment industry
garment workers
garment factories
dress noun [uncountable] a particular style of clothes. Don’t use dress on its own:
Casual dress is not appropriate for an interview.
men in evening dress
gear noun [uncountable] /ɡɪə $ ɡɪr/ informal clothes for a particular sport or activity:
She was wearing her running gear.
Have you got all your gear?
wardrobe noun [singular] all the clothes that you own, or all the clothes that you wear at a particular time of year:
Her wardrobe consisted mainly of smart clothes for work.
I will need a new summer weardrobe.
You could win a complete new wardrobe!

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

clothes
kləuðz
See: best bib and tucker or sunday-go-to-meeting clothes

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲