pants

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /pænts/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ænts

Etymology 1

Shortened from pantaloons (“trousers”): borrowed from French pantalon, itself derived from Italian Pantalone, one of the principal characters found in commedia dell'arte, who wore tight trousers.

Noun

pants pl (plural only, attributive pant)

2. (chiefly Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Philippines, Singapore, Northern England) An outer garment that covers the body from the waist downwards, covering each leg separately, usually as far as the ankles; trousers.
   • 1933, Kenneth Roberts, Rabble in Arms, published 1996, page 220:

     “But they cover the legs,” Joseph explained. “That is the only reason my people wear pants: to cover the legs in the winter, or when traveling through rough country, full of thorns. In warm weather, or in open country, pants are unnecessary, uncomfortable, and foolish.”

   • 1970 June, traditional (lyrics and music), “The Blackleg Miner” (track 4), in Hark! The Village Wait‎, performed by Steeleye Span:

     It's in the evening after dark when the blackleg miner creeps to work. With his moleskin pants and his dirty shirt, there goes the blackleg miner.

   • 1989, Bryce Courtenay, The Power of One, Penguin, published 2006, page 427:

     Then he gave me a last desperate push and I tripped over the shorts caught around my ankles and fell down. I tried to pull my pants up with my boxing gloves but without success. […] In those days nobody wore underpants and I was bare-arsed and fancy free in front of everyone.

   • 2010, Ronald C. Eng, editor, Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills, 8th edition, US: The Mountaineers Books, page 24:

     Look for pants with reinforced seats and knees and full-length side zippers that make it possible to put the pants on while you are wearing boots, crampons, skis, or snowshoes.

   • 2005, Octavia E. Butler, Fledgling, page 12:

     I rolled up the legs of the pants, then I went back into the trees.

   • 2012 May 27, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992)”, in The Onion AV Club‎:

     The episode also opens with an inspired bit of business for Homer, who blithely refuses to acquiesce to an elderly neighbor’s utterly reasonable request that he help make the process of selling her house easier by wearing pants when he gallivants about in front of windows, throw out his impressive collection of rotting Jack-O-Lanterns from previous Halloweens and take out his garbage, as it’s attracting wildlife (cue moose and Northern Exposure theme song).

   • 2014 January 13, “Blackburn man hid machete down his trousers”, in The Lancashire Telegraph‎:

     Taylor was seen nearby and had a three foot machete down his pants.

3. (chiefly UK) An undergarment that covers the genitals and often the buttocks and the neighbouring parts of the body; underpants.
   • 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin, published 2011, page 39:

     I decided to pass up her underclothes, not from feelings of delicacy, but because I couldn't see myself putting her pants on and snapping her brassière.

   • 1976, Nathan H. Azrin, Richard M. Foxx, Toilet Training in Less Than a Day, published 1988, page 127:

     Big girls get candy for dry pants.

   • 1984, Martin Amis, Money, Vintage, published 2005, page 183:

     As she bent over the intercom the little skirt went peek-a-boo and you could see white pants cupping her buttocks like a bra.

4. (UK, slang) Rubbish; something worthless.

   You're talking pants!

   The film was a load of pants.

Synonyms

• (outer garment): breeks, britches, hosen, slacks, strides, trousers
• (undergarment): see Thesaurus:underwear

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Japanese: パンツ (pantsu)
  • → Mandarin: 胖次 (pàngcì)
  • → Korean: 빤스 (ppanseu)

Translations

Adjective

pants (comparative more pants, superlative most pants)

1. (British, slang) Of inferior quality, rubbish.

   Your mobile is pants — why don’t you get one like mine?

   • 2015, T. R. Richmond, What She Left‎, Penguin Books, page 39:

     'Is that what you're going to do when you graduate?' he asked. 'Be a photographer?'
     'I wish, but I'm pants at the technical stuff. ...'

   • 2019, Game Freak, Pokémon Sword and Shield, spoken by Hop:

     "Lee? How'd you manage to find your way here? You're pants with directions. You always get lost."

Translations

Etymology 2

Verb

pants (third-person singular simple present pantses, present participle pantsing, simple past and past participle pantsed)

1. To pull someone’s pants down; to forcibly remove someone’s pants.
   • 1948, Carolina Quarterly, University of California, page 47:

     Keith Gerber has been pantsed twice already this summer by Lannie and Cling, and so his face is more resolved, the fear tempered by the fact that he understands these things to be inevitable.

   • 1980, William Hogan (author), The Quartzsite Trip, Atheneum, page 242:

     [T]he other boys, Stretch Latham and Rod Becker mainly, pantsed him, got his jockey shorts away and threw them onto Hubcap Willie’s roof.

   • 1993, Harold Augenbraum, Ilan Stavans, Growing Up Latino: Memoirs and Stories, page 174:

     Richard did not stand too close to him, because he was always trying to pants him, and he would have died of shame if he did it tonight, because he knew his BVDs were dirty at the trap door.

Synonyms

• (pull someone’s pants down): depants, de-pants, debag, (British) keg, (Australian) dack, (Canada) sag

Translations

Etymology 3

Noun

pants

1. plural of pant

Etymology 4

Verb

pants

1. third-person singular simple present indicative of pant

Further reading

• pants on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• pantsing on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• NAPTs, snapt

Latvian

Etymology

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Pronunciation

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Noun

pants m (1st declension)

1. verse, stanza (section of poem or song lyric)
2. (law) paragraph, article, clause (section of legal document)

Declension

7=proper

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English track pants.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpants/
• Rhymes: -ants
• Syllabification: pants

Noun

pants m pl (plural only)

1. (Mexico) joggers (athletic trousers); sweatpants
2. (Mexico) tracksuit

Swedish

Noun

pants

1. indefinite genitive singular of pant