pants

Formspantses, pantsing, pantsed

1. 1
   trousersnoundialectalAustraliaCanadaIndiaNew ZealandNorthern EnglandPhilippinesSingaporeSouth AfricaUSplural

   An outer garment that covers the body from the waist down, with a separate covering for each leg and usually reaching the ankles.

   She ironed her pants the night before the interview.

   These pants have deep pockets on both sides.

   UsageOne garment is a pair of pants; in Britain pants usually means underwear, so say trousers there.

   Similartrousers, slacks

   Note

   The everyday word for trousers across much of the English-speaking world: the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, the Philippines and Singapore. Britain mostly keeps the word for the undergarment, but Northern England sides with trousers, as the moleskin pants of the traditional song "The Blackleg Miner" show.

2. 2
   underwearnounUKplural

   Underpants; underwear worn over the genitals and often also the buttocks and the areas around them.

   The shop sells pants and bras in the lingerie section.

   Under her jeans she wore cotton pants printed with tiny red hearts.

   UsageOne garment still takes are or were: her pants were white; say underpants when the garment might be unclear.

   Similarunderpants, knickers, briefs, undies

   Note

   The British default, where pants are what goes under the trousers. In Martin Amis's Money (1984), the white pants glimpsed under a little skirt can only be underwear. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Martin Amis wrote Money, first published in 1984. en.wikipedia.org
   • Money describes white pants visible beneath a little skirt; the context identifies them as underwear. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   pull down (prank)verbtransitive

   To pull down or forcibly remove another person's pants.

   A classmate attempted to pants him during the school assembly.

   The teammates would pants each other as a rowdy victory ritual.

   UsageThe forms keep the s: he pantses, pantsing, he was pantsed.

   Similardebag

   Note

   It belongs to boys' pranks and rough play, and it is often passive, told from the victim's side. In a 1984 story in the Carolina Quarterly, Keith Gerber "has been pantsed twice already this summer."

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