trouser

noun · verb

Simple meaning

To secretively steal for personal use.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

trowzer

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈtɹaʊzɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

used attributively as a modifier
Of or relating to trousers.
used attributively as a modifier
A garment (or part of a garment) designed for or relating to trousers
in clothing retail and fashion
A pair of trousers.

verb

transitivebritishirelandinformal
To put (money) into one's trouser pocket; to pocket.
transitivebritishirelandinformal
To secretively steal (an item or money) for personal use.
transitivebritishirelandinformal
To take and keep (something, especially money, that is not one's own); to pocket.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency: Uncommon
Formality: Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (used attributively as a modifier) Of or relating to trousers.

Used this way, trouser is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Relating / garment

trouser legtrouser suit

Put / take

right trouser

Other combinations

trouser pockettrouser presstrouser cuffleft trousertrouser belt

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

trousersnounPlural form
A garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

trouser legnounCompound term
The leg of a pair of trousers.
trouser pressnounCompound term
A home appliance in which trousers can be hung and the wrinkles pressed out.
trouser cuffnounCompound term
A cuff on the bottoms of trouser legs.
trouser clipnounCompound term
A clip worn around a cyclist's ankles that keeps trousers from becoming caught in the bicycle chain.
pair of trousersnounCompound term
A garment extending from the waist to the knee or ankle, covering each leg separately.
bellbottom trousersnounCompound term
Trousers with legs that flare.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.