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n. often pants Idiom: 1. An outer garment that covers the body below the waist, usually to the ankles, and is divided into sections to fit each leg separately: She decided to wear pants instead of a skirt. He bought a new pair of pants. 2. Underpants. with (one's) pants down Slang In an embarrassing position. [Short for PANTALOON.] Usage Note: You can refer to a single garment either as "pants" or as "a pair of pants." The same holds true not only for other similar garments such as shorts or trousers, but also for other single items that consist of two connected parts, such as glasses or scissors. With pants, the "pair" alludes to the fact that there are two openings for the legs. The use of the singular pant is largely confined to the fields of design, textiles, and fashion: The stylist recommended that the model wear a pant with a checkered print. Pant is also commonly used as the attributive form: pant leg, pant cuff, pant pocket. |
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