ENGLISH
REFERENCE

weeds

n.
US //ˈwidz// UK //wˈiːdz// weeds
  1. 1 clothing (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Archaic Literary

    an old word for clothes, especially the black clothes someone wears when a relative dies.

    an archaic term for garments or apparel; most commonly surviving in the phrase 'widow's weeds' to describe mourning attire.

    Example

    The widow was dressed in her black weeds for the funeral service.

    Example

    The protagonist appeared at the gala not in festive attire, but in the somber weeds of a man who had recently suffered a great loss.

    Usage

    Almost exclusively used in the plural form.

    Teacher's tip

    This sense is rare in modern English; students will likely only encounter it in 19th-century literature or historical dramas.
Etymology 1

Inflected form of weed.

Etymology 2

From Old English wǣd, wǣde, from Proto-Germanic *wēdiz (“piece of cloth, garment”).

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

Idioms1 entry

Last updated June 20, 2026