clothes S2 W2 /kləʊðz, kləʊz $ kloʊðz, kloʊz/ BrE AmE 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 ↑ change 2 (6), ⇨ ↑ plain-clothes
GRAMMAR
Clothes is a plural noun and has no singular form:
▪
He needed some new clothes (NOT a new clothe/clothes).
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ 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.
■ phrases
▪ a change of clothes
He only took a small bag with a change of clothes.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + 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.
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THESAURUS
▪ clothes noun [plural] things you wear to cover your body or keep you warm. Clothes is always plural:
I like your clothes!
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Don’t throw your dirty clothes on the floor!
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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.
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It is important to wear protective clothing at all times.
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a clothing manufacturer
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a clothing retailer
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Police found a piece of clothing in the bushes.
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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
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the garment industry
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garment workers
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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.
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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
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sports wear
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casual wear
▪ gear noun [uncountable] /ɡɪə $ ɡɪr/ informal clothes for a particular sport or activity:
She was wearing her running gear.
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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.
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I will need a new summer weardrobe.
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You could win a complete new wardrobe!