Information about Pants

Pants are a type of clothing for the lower body. In American English, the term refers to trousers, while in British English, it is a shortened form of underpants.

American English: Trousers

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Pants in American English (Blue jeans)


In North American English, pants are a long outer garment worn at the hips, which in British English are called trousers.

Trousers or "pants" can either be synonymous with pants or have a more formal connotation. Therefore, all trousers are pants, but not vice-versa: jeans are pants but not trousers, while slacks (formal pants) are both. This definition is consistent with other languages such as the Spanish pantalones, which is contrasted with pantalones cortos (shorts, or literally "short pants").

British English: Underpants

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Pants in British English (women's knickers)


In British English, pants are undergarments. The word is synonymous with underwear, underpants or panties. It is a catch-all term that can denote anything from g-strings to boxer shorts, but all have the common feature that they are worn under trousers, skirts or pyjamas. In Japan, the word pantsu (パンツ) is a loanword from the English word pants and means underpants.

Other uses in British English

  • The word "pants" is used to mean the same as trousers in parts of North West England.
  • The word "pants" has acquired humorous connotations in Britain in the last few decades, largely among younger people. Many stand-up comedians have used the word adjectively as a light pejorative term, especially when substituting the word "pants" for other nouns in famous quotes or excerpts.
  • "Pants" can be used as a slang word for something that is below par. Its usage in this context originates from University students in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1993.
  • Depending on the context pants may also be used in referring to sexual intercourse, and the act of "getting into someone's pants" implies that one has "scored".

In Popular Culture

The movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants centers around the (American usage of) the garment.

See also

original research or unverifiable claims.
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body is the integral physical material of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death. The study of the workings of the body is physiology.
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Trousers (or pants in Canada, South Africa and the United States, and sometimes called slacks or breeches — often pronounced /bɹɪtʃɪz/
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Undergarments, also called "underwear", "underpants," "lingerie", or "panties" (undergarments for women), or sometimes "intimate clothing", and "pants" or "knickers" in British English, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes.
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Trousers (or pants in Canada, South Africa and the United States, and sometimes called slacks or breeches — often pronounced /bɹɪtʃɪz/
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North American English is a collective term used for the varieties of the English language that are spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of the considerable similarities in pronunciation, vocabulary and accent between American English and Canadian English, the two spoken
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British English (BrE, BE, en-GB) is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere in the Anglophone world.
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Connotation is a subjective cultural and/or emotional coloration in addition to the explicit or denotative meaning of any specific word or phrase in a language, i.e. emotional association with a word.
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Jeans are trousers traditionally made from denim, but may also be made from a variety of fabrics not including corduroy. Originally intended for work, they became popular among teenagers starting in the 1950s. Historic brands include Levi's, Jordache, and Wrangler.
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Trousers (or pants in Canada, South Africa and the United States, and sometimes called slacks or breeches — often pronounced /bɹɪtʃɪz/
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Shorts are a garment worn by both men and women over their pelvic area, circling the waist, and covering the upper part of the upper legs or more, sometimes extending as far as mid-calf, but not covering the entire length of the leg, either as outer or undergarment.
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Undergarments, also called "underwear", "underpants," "lingerie", or "panties" (undergarments for women), or sometimes "intimate clothing", and "pants" or "knickers" in British English, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes.
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Undergarments, also called "underwear", "underpants," "lingerie", or "panties" (undergarments for women), or sometimes "intimate clothing", and "pants" or "knickers" in British English, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes.
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Undergarments, also called "underwear", "underpants," "lingerie", or "panties" (undergarments for women), or sometimes "intimate clothing", and "pants" or "knickers" in British English, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes.
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Undergarments, also called "underwear", "underpants," "lingerie", or "panties" (undergarments for women), or sometimes "intimate clothing", and "pants" or "knickers" in British English, are clothes worn next to the skin, usually under other clothes.
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Panties are women's underwear.

Types of panties

A wide variety of types of panties exist. Bikini panties are designed so that the hip connectors are small, like on those of swimwear.
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A G-string (alternatively gee-string or gee string) is a type of thong, a narrow piece of cloth, leather, or plastic that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a band around the hips, worn as swimwear or underwear by
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The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".
You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words. Boxer shorts (also known as loose boxers or as simply boxers) are a type of underwear worn by men.
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A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept whereby it is the meaning or idiom that is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself.
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worldwide view.


Stand-up comedy is a style of comedy where the performer speaks directly to the audience, with the absence of the theatrical fourth wall.
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A word is a term of derision, or a phrase is pejorative, if it implies contempt or disapproval. The adjective pejorative is synonymous with derogatory, derisive, and dyslogistic.
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Breeches (bri't'chis) are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles.
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Please help [ improve the article] or discuss these issues on the talk page.
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Clarence Henry "Pants" Rowland (February 12, 1879 - May 17, 1969) was a Major League Baseball manager for the Chicago White Sox from 1915 through 1918 who went on to become a major figure in minor league baseball. He was born in Platteville, Wisconsin.
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Buttock cleavage is minor exposure of the buttocks and the gluteal cleft between them, often because of low-slung trousers.

In her history of the 14th century, A Distant Mirror
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A codpiece (Middle English codpece = cod 'bag, scrotum' + pece 'piece') is a flap or pouch that attaches to the front of the crotch of men's trousers to provide a covering for the genitals. It was held closed by string ties, buttons, or other methods.
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In New Zealand in the 1930s, farmers reportedly had trouble with exploding trousers as a result of attempts to wipe out the weed ragwort. Farmers had been spraying sodium chlorate, a government recommended weedkiller, onto the ragwort, and some of the spray had ended up on their
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Hakama (袴) are a type of traditional Japanese clothing resembling a wide, pleated skirt. They were originally worn only by men, but today they are worn by both men and women. Hakama are tied at the waist and fall approximately to the ankles.
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Jeans are trousers traditionally made from denim, but may also be made from a variety of fabrics not including corduroy. Originally intended for work, they became popular among teenagers starting in the 1950s. Historic brands include Levi's, Jordache, and Wrangler.
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knickers is a word for women's undergarments: "Don't get your knickers in a twist" (i.e., "don't get all hot under the collar," or, in U.S. usage, "don't get your panties in a bunch." Australian usage is "don't get your knickers in a knot" or "twist").
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