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pants

PANTS/pænts/

Verbpantses, pantsing, pantsed

6 meanings of pants

Practice

  1. 1
    trousersnoundialectalAustraliaCanadaIndiaNew ZealandNorthern EnglandPhilippinesSingaporeSouth AfricaUSplural
    Clothing that covers each leg and reaches from the waist down to the ankles.

    Like two cloth tubes joined at the top, one for each leg.

    My new pants are a little too long for me.

    He wore black pants and a white shirt to the wedding.

    UsageOne is a pair of pants. In Britain, say trousers.

    Similartrousers, slacks

    Note
  2. 2
    underwearnounUKplural
    Underwear that covers the private parts and often the bottom.

    She put on clean pants and a bra after her shower.

    She bought him new pants and socks, and he wore them under his jeans.

    UsageUse are: my pants are clean.

    Similarunderpants, knickers, briefs, undies

    Note
  3. 3
    pull down (prank)verbtransitive
    To pull someone's pants down by force, often to embarrass them.

    The older boys tried to pants him in the locker room.

    Don't pants your brother in front of his friends.

    UsageSay he got pantsed.

    Similardebag

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    out of breathverb
    The form of pant used in the present with he, she, it, or a singular noun such as the dog or water.

    The dog pants heavily after running across the yard.

    She pants for air at the top of the long staircase.

    UsageDo not confuse with he pantses (pulls someone's pants down).

  2. 5
    adjectiveslangBritish
    Very bad or of low quality.

    The film was absolutely pants, so we left halfway through.

    My old phone is pants compared to the new one.

    UsageSay it is pants, or someone is pants at something.

    Similarrubbish, awful, terrible, lousy, dire

    Oppositebrilliant, great, excellent, ace

  3. 6
    complete rubbishnounslangUKuncountableplural
    Something with no value, like nonsense or junk.

    His excuse was complete pants and nobody believed it.

    Stop talking pants and tell me the truth.

    UsageSay a load of pants or talking pants.

    Similarrubbish, nonsense, garbage, rot, tosh

pants is a form of pant

pant, verb: To breathe fast and hard, usually after running or hard work. Full entry

Forms
pantpants he/she/itpanting -ing formpanted past tense, past participle
Spelling
pant → pants: add -s
Sound
The ending sounds like /s/.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of pants apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

'Pants' is a short form of 'pantaloons.' That word came from French 'pantalon' and Italian 'Pantalone,' a character in Italian comedy who wore tight trousers.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts