knee pants

plural noun

1. knee-length pants, especially those formerly worn by boys considered too young to wear full-length trousers (often used as a term symbolizing youth):

   I haven't felt this way since I was in knee pants.

Word History and Origins

Origin of knee pants¹

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

He still wears the traditional broad black hat and knee pants of the Gur sect each Sabbath and has no television in his house.

From Washington Post

Like other boys, he wore knee pants and heavy shoes with brass toe tips.

From Literature

“And at first they called me a sissy because I wore knee pants — until I punched one kid in the face. Give me the Bronx any day!”

From New York Times

He conducted in knee pants at the Hollywood Bowl and went on to become music director of three major American orchestras — the Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony and New York Philharmonic.

From Los Angeles Times

They had been into an adjacent farm-house and changed their clothes, and now appeared in knee pants, red stockings, and white jackets, a striking and interesting accessory to an already animated and glowing landscape.

From Project Gutenberg