pants

1 of 2

noun

1
or less commonly pant chiefly US : an outer garment covering each leg separately and usually extending from the waist to the ankle
a pair of pants
wearing short/long pants
often used before another noun
a pants leg
sometimes used in the singular form pant especially before another noun and in clothing catalogs
a pant leg
a classic khaki pant
2
chiefly British : men's underpants
3
: pantie

pants

2 of 2

verb

pantsed; pantsing; pantses

transitive verb

US, informal : to yank down the pants of (someone) as a prank or joke
Sandler plays Dave Buznik, a Brooklyn-born wimp, a patsy, a schlemiel so mild-mannered he makes other people want to pants him.Lisa Schwarzbaum
"I was standing on the corner with my friends and we saw some girls we knew from school," recalled Robert Alicea … "They were walking past when my friend decided it would be funny to pants me. The girls started yelling and pointing—it was horrible!"Greg Downing
Phrases
with one's pants down
US, informal
: in an embarrassing position (as of being unprepared to act)

Word History

Etymology

Noun

short for pantaloons

Verb

derivative of pants entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1945, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pants was in 1833

Dictionary Entries Near pants

Cite this Entry

“Pants.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pants. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

pants

plural noun
ˈpan(t)s
1
: an outer garment extending from the waist to the ankle and covering each leg separately : trousers
2
: underpants
especially : pantie
Etymology

Plural noun

a shortened form of pantaloons "trousers," from Pantaloon, Pantalone, name of a clown in stage entertainment

Word Origin
A form of comic entertainment that had its start in Italy became popular throughout Europe several hundred years ago. A small group of actors would put on a play with a standard set of humorous characters. One character was a bad-tempered old man called Pantalone or Pantaloon. Pantaloon always wore tight-fitting trousers and stockings. Such clothing became known as pantaloons. The word pantaloons was later used for various types of trousers and is still sometimes heard today. The usual term now, however, is pants, which is short for pantaloons.

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