pants
Americannoun
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underpants, especially for women and children; panties.
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British. men's underpants, especially long drawers.
idioms
plural noun
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an undergarment reaching from the waist to the thighs or knees
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Also called: trousers. a garment shaped to cover the body from the waist to the ankles or knees with separate tube-shaped sections for both legs
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informal to bore extremely
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informal to scare extremely
adjective
Usage
What is a basic definition of pants? Pants are an article of clothing that extends from the waist to around the ankles and fits around each leg. Also known as trousers, pants are worn by people of all genders and ages. As opposed to a dress or a skirt, pants are divided down the middle and have openings for each leg. The fabric of pants wrap around each leg and usually extends to the ankles or at least past the knees. A single item of this clothing is called “a pair of pants” and multiple items are called “pairs of pants.” This article of clothing is never referred to as a “pant.”Pants is a general term for this type of clothing and is further divided into other specific kinds of pants, depending on fabric and cut. Jeans are pants made out of denim or corduroy, while leggings are close-fitting pants, often made out of a stretchy material like spandex. An article of clothing that is identical to pants but stops at or before the knee is referred to as a pair of shorts.
- Used in a sentence: She bought three new pairs of pants to wear with her new sweater.
Etymology
Origin of pants
1830–40; short for pantaloons
Explanation
In the UK, pants are undergarments or underwear. If you're from the U.S. or Canada, pants are the clothes you wear over your underwear, pulling them on one long leg at a time. In most English-speaking countries, the garments you wear under your clothing are known as undies, underpants, or panties, but in the UK, they're pants. If you ask your British friend to show you their new pants, they may look shocked — but anyone from North America will know you mean jeans or trousers. Pants was a 19th-century shortened version of pantaloons, named after a character in Italian comedies of the 1500s who wore tight trousers.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dressed in a crisp white button up shirt and khaki pants, Doncic sat next to Reaves on the bench.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2026
Yeah, I could definitely see you working the stage on the second one, making use of those flowy pants.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
Noémie Halioua, a French freelance journalist, packed light for her flight from Tel Aviv to Paris on March 20, wearing loosefitting pants and sneakers just in case she had to run for cover.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
The trial heard how her niece soon used her cash to buy £136 yoga pants.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
He skids to a stop on the packed dirt and shouts, between pants, “He’s on the move!”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
