clothing

1. 1
   noununcountable

   Articles, usually made of fabric, animal hair, or skin, worn to cover the human body for warmth, modesty, or fashion.

   Donations of clothing poured in after the flood destroyed homes.

   Protective clothing is required for everyone working in the lab.

   Similarclothes, garments, apparel, attire, garb

   Note

   A verb turned into a noun for what it produces. Middle English clothing is simply clothe plus -ing, built the same way as German Kleidung and Dutch kleding. In everyday use it behaves as a mass noun, counted with piece of or item of: two pieces of clothing, an item of clothing. It also works freely as a modifier, as in a clothing brand. The plural clothings exists, but those counting phrases are the ordinary route.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of clothe.

   The mission devoted its funds to feeding and clothing the poor.

   By clothing the actors in period costume, the director evoked a vivid sense of the era.

   Note

   The verb at work, and it normally takes an object: one is clothing the poor, clothing the actors, clothing a child for winter. Because it shares its spelling with the noun for garments, word order tells them apart. In clothing the poor it is a verb with its object, while in warm clothing it is the noun. The figurative use carries over too, as in fog clothing the hills, covering them as if with a garment.

3. 3
   noununcountable

   The act of dressing a person, or a single occasion of doing so.

   The clothing of the dancers before the show was a frantic, joyful rush.

   Religious ritual required the careful clothing of the priest in his vestments.

   Similardressing, robing

   Oppositeundressing

   Note

   Here the word names the action itself, usually with the and an of-phrase for whoever is being dressed: the clothing of the idols, the clothing of a priest. That construction is what separates it from the verb form, which takes a direct object instead. It pairs naturally with unclothing, and it tends to appear where dressing is ceremonial rather than routine.

4. 4
   noununcountable

   An outer layer of insulating material wrapped around a boiler or steam chamber to keep heat from radiating away.

   Engineers replaced the worn clothing around the boiler to cut heat loss.

   The boiler's clothing was made of a thick, non-conducting felt.

   Similarlagging, insulation, cladding, jacket

Showing meanings only. Show all 5