English Reference
Idiom idiom

birthday suit


Nakedness, unclothed skin; an exposure of a human's natural anatomy without clothing.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

He jumped in the lake in his birthday suit.

You should not walk to the mailbox in your birthday suit.

The cat stares at me whenever I am in my birthday suit.

CONTEXTUAL

The toddler ran through the house in his birthday suit after escaping from the bath.

The locker room was full of athletes in their birthday suits as they prepared to head into the showers after the game.

I forgot to bring a towel to the pool, so I had to stand there in my birthday suit until my friend found one.

COMPLEX

The artist's controversial photograph depicted the subject in nothing but her birthday suit, challenging viewers to reconsider cultural attitudes toward the unclothed body.


First recorded in the mid-18th century, the phrase relies on the observation that one arrives at birth entirely unburdened by tailoring. It serves as a polite substitution for nakedness, suggesting that the skin itself constitutes the only garment worn at the moment of delivery.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bag of fruit

    [Cockney slang]suit

  2. 02

    cut one's cloth to suit one's purse

    To settle for less when money or resources are limited.

  3. 03

    empty suit

    An ineffective or incompetent person in a place of authority.

  4. 04

    fold like a cheap suit

    To give up easily; capitulate.

  5. 05

    follow suit

    To follow an example; to imitate or copy the actions of another.

  6. 06

    strong suit

    A field in which, or task at which, one is quite capable.

  7. 07

    suit down to the ground

    To suit perfectly.

  8. 08

    suit one's book

    To be ideal, convenient, or satisfactory to someone.

Last updated August 10, 2026