pants

pants
[[t]pæ̱nts[/t]]
1) N-PLURAL: also a pair of N Pants are a piece of underwear which have two holes to put your legs through and elastic around the top to hold them up round your waist or hips. [BRIT]

I wash and dry myself and put on my bra and pants.

Syn:
(in AM, usually use underpants)
2) N-PLURAL: also a pair of N Pants are a piece of clothing that covers the lower part of your body and each leg. [AM]

She described him as wearing brown corduroy pants and a white cotton shirt.

(in BRIT, use trousers)
3) N-UNCOUNT If you say that something is pants, you mean that it is very poor in quality. [BRIT, INFORMAL]

The place is pants, yet so popular.

4) PHRASE: v PHR (emphasis) If someone bores, charms, or scares the pants off you, for example, they bore, charm, or scare you a lot. [INFORMAL]

You'll bore the pants off your grandchildren...

We all love to frighten the pants off ourselves by going on hair-raising rides at funfairs.

5) PHRASE: V inflects If you fly by the seat of your pants or do something by the seat of your pants, you use your instincts to tell you what to do in a new or difficult situation rather than following a plan or relying on equipment.
6) to be caught with one's pants down → see catch
to wear the pants → see wear

English dictionary. 2008.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • pants — In BrE pants (plural noun) means ‘underpants’, whereas in AmE it means ‘trousers or slacks’. The distinction can cause problems: • I heard an American student at Cambridge University telling some English friends how he climbed over a locked gate… …   Modern English usage

  • pants — ► PLURAL NOUN 1) Brit. underpants or knickers. 2) chiefly N. Amer. trousers. 3) Brit. informal rubbish; nonsense. ● catch someone with their pants (or trousers) down Cf. ↑catch someone with their trousers down ● …   English terms dictionary

  • pants — [ pænts ] noun plural ** 1. ) AMERICAN a piece of clothing that covers your body from your waist to your ANKLES and has a separate part for each leg: TROUSERS 2. ) BRITISH UNDERPANTS beat the pants off INFORMAL 1. ) to defeat an opponent easily 2 …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • pants — /pants/, n. (used with a pl. v.) 1. trousers (def. 1). 2. underpants, esp. for women and children; panties. 3. Brit. men s underpants, esp. long drawers. 4. wear the pants, to have the dominant role; be in charge: I guess we know who wears the… …   Universalium

  • pants — (n.) 1840, see PANTALOONS (Cf. pantaloons). Colloquial singular pant is attested from 1893. To wear the pants be the dominant member of a household is first attested 1931. To do something by the seat of (one s) pants by human instinct is from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • pants — n. 1. n. pl. A garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately. Syn: trousers. [WordNet 1.6] 2. Underpants. Syn: drawers. [PJC] 3. Specifically: Underpants worn by women; panties. Syn: bloomers, drawers,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pants — ☆ pants [pants ] pl.n. [abbrev. of PANTALOONS] 1. an outer garment extending from the waist to the knees or ankles and divided into separate coverings for the legs: more formally called trousers 2. drawers or panties: As an adjective or in… …   English World dictionary

  • Pants — (short for “pantaloons”) may refer to the following:* Trousers (North American English), an outer garment covering the lower half of the body, encasing each leg separately * Underpants (British English), an undergarment covering the genital… …   Wikipedia

  • pants — (ingl.; Guat., Méj.) m. *Chándal …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • pants — s.m.pl. ES ingl. {{wmetafile0}} TS abbigl. pantaloncini corti, spec. da donna {{line}} {{/line}} DATA: 1971. ETIMO: propr. accorc. di pantaloons pantaloni …   Dizionario italiano

  • pants — /pænts/ s. ingl. [propr., accorc. di pantaloons pantaloni ], usato in ital. al masch. pl. (abbigl.) [pantaloni corti] ▶◀ [➨ pantaloncino] …   Enciclopedia Italiana

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