garment

garment — noun

1. any item that you wear on your body, such as a shirt, coat, or dress

1.nounB1
Definition

any item that you wear on your body, such as a shirt, coat, or dress

Example

Samir wore a traditional wool garment to the wedding ceremony.

collocation: traditional garment / wool garment

The tailor carefully stitched each garment by hand in her small shop.

subject + verb + object: garment as direct object

Common collocations
  • wool garment
  • silk garment
  • cotton garment
  • traditional garment
  • outer garment
  • garment industry
  • garment factory
  • garment worker
Synonyms
  • clothing

    uncountable noun for all items worn on the body; broader meaning than garment

  • apparel

    formal term, often used in retail or business contexts

  • attire

    formal term that refers to clothing for a specific occasion or purpose

Grammar Patterns

a + [adjective] + garment

Usage Note

Garment is more formal than clothes or clothing. It is commonly used in the fashion industry, in retail descriptions, and in formal writing about attire. You would not normally use it in casual conversation to refer to everyday wear.

Common Mistakes

I need to buy some garments for the summer.
I need to buy some clothes for the summer.
For everyday casual wear, use clothes or clothing. Garment sounds overly formal in this context.
She wore a beautiful garmented dress.
She wore a beautiful garment.
Garment is a noun, not an adjective. There is no adjective form garmented (the verb sense is extremely rare and literary).

garment — verb

Word family

  • garments
    nounB1
  • garmented
    adjectiveC1
  • garmenting
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Clothing is the broadest and most neutral term for everything people wear. Clothes is the everyday word used in casual conversation. Apparel is a formal term commonly found in retail and business contexts, such as 'apparel company' or 'sportswear apparel.' Attire is also formal and tends to refer to clothing for a specific occasion, like 'formal attire' or 'business attire.' Garment differs from all of these in two ways: it refers to a single piece of clothing (countable), and it carries a formal or technical tone. You might read about 'a woollen garment' in a fashion magazine or 'protective garments' in a safety manual, but you would not ask a friend to 'bring a warm garment' — you would say 'bring a warm jacket.'

clothing ↗clothes ↗apparel ↗attire

Common collocations

Nouns

  • garment industry
  • garment factory
  • garment worker
  • garment bag
  • garment district

Phrases

  • item of garment
  • layer of garment
  • type of garment

Prepositions

  • garment for [occasion/use]
  • garment in [size/colour/material]

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle FrenchEnglish

Garment entered English in the 1300s from Old French 'garnement,' meaning 'equipment' or 'adornment.' The French word came from 'garnir,' which meant 'to equip, furnish, or provide.' In Middle English, the word broadened from military equipment to include clothing, which was seen as personal equipment. The verb form appeared later in literary English, following the same pattern as the noun.