pants
pants Lexical Profile
pants Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American An outer garment covering the lower half of the body from the waist to the ankles, divided into separate sections to cover each leg separately.
"He bought a new pair of dress pants for his upcoming job interview."
British An undergarment worn on the lower part of the body.
"She packed extra socks and pants in her suitcase for the weekend trip."
• verb
North American To forcefully and unexpectedly pull down a person's trousers as a prank or joke.
"The bully was suspended from school after he pantsed a younger student in the hallway."
Word Nuance & Usage
A major dialectal difference exists: in North America, 'pants' refers to outer garments (trousers), whereas in British English, it typically refers to undergarments, often leading to cross-cultural confusion.
• Rhymes for pants
Word Origin & Etymology
Shortened in the mid-19th century from 'pantaloons', which derives from Pantalone, a stock character of 16th-century Italian commedia dell'arte who famously wore tight-fitting trousers.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.