ENGLISH
REFERENCE

clothes

n. uncountable
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈkɫoʊðz// UK //klˈəʊðz// clothes Archaic General-service

n. the things you wear to cover your body, like shirts, pants, and coats.

n. items worn to cover the body, typically made of fabric or textiles. Plural in form and takes a plural verb.


SIMPLE

I need to buy some new clothes for my job.

CONTEXTUAL

She packed her warmest clothes because she knew the mountain air would be cold at night.

COMPLEX

The fashion industry produces vast quantities of clothes every season, often leading to significant environmental waste when unsold items are discarded.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English clothes, cloþes, plural of cloth, cloþ (“cloth, garment”), from Old English clāþas (“clothes”), plural of clāþ (“cloth”), equivalent to cloth + -es. Cognate with Scots clathes, claes (“clothes”), Danish klæder, Norwegian Bokmål klær, Norwegian Nynorsk klede, German Kleider.

Etymology 2

From clothe + -s.

Usage

The noun is always plural and has no singular form; use 'a piece of clothing' or 'an item of clothing' to refer to a single object.

Pitfall

I bought a new clothesI bought some new clothesClothes is always plural; you cannot use the indefinite article 'a' with it.

Idioms4 entries

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