pants

[ pants ]
/ pænts /

noun (used with a plural verb)

underpants, especially for women and children; panties.
British. men's underpants, especially long drawers.

Idioms for pants

    wear the pants, to have the dominant role; be in charge: I guess we know who wears the pants in that family.

Origin of pants

1830–40; short for pantaloons

British Dictionary definitions for wear the pants

pants
/ (pænts) /

pl n

British an undergarment reaching from the waist to the thighs or knees
Also called: trousers a garment shaped to cover the body from the waist to the ankles or knees with separate tube-shaped sections for both legs
bore the pants off informal to bore extremely
scare the pants off informal to scare extremely

adjective

British slang inferior

Word Origin for pants

C19: shortened from pantaloons; see pantaloon

Idioms and Phrases with wear the pants (1 of 2)

wear the pants

Exercise controlling authority in a household, as in Grandma wears the pants at our house. This idiom, generally applied to women and dating from the mid-1500s, a time when they wore only skirts, equates pants with an authoritative and properly masculine role. Originally put as wear the breeches, it remains in use despite current fashions.

Idioms and Phrases with wear the pants (2 of 2)

pants