jeans

jeans — noun

1. informal pants made from blue cotton fabric known as denim, worn by people of al

1.nounA1
Definition

informal pants made from blue cotton fabric known as denim, worn by people of all ages for everyday activities such as school, shopping, or meeting friends

Example

Takeshi wore his favourite blue jeans to the school picnic.

collocation: blue jeans

Élise bought a new pair of jeans at the market.

pattern: a pair of jeans

Common collocations
  • blue jeans
  • a pair of jeans
  • wear jeans
  • new jeans
  • favourite jeans
Synonyms
  • denims

    older word for the same clothing; less common in everyday speech today

Grammar Patterns

jeans + plural verb

a pair of jeans

Usage Note

'Jeans' is always a plural noun. To talk about one item of clothing, say 'a pair of jeans' or 'my jeans' with a plural verb (e.g. 'my jeans are dirty').

Common Mistakes

My new jeans is blue.
My new jeans are blue.
'jeans' is a plural noun, so the verb must be plural (are/were).
I bought a jeans yesterday.
I bought a pair of jeans yesterday.
for a single item, say 'a pair of jeans'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Jeans are everyday pants made of denim, worn casually. 'Denims' is an older term for the same item but sounds dated and is rarely used now. 'Dungarees' are different: they are a one-piece garment with a front panel and straps over the shoulders, often made from denim too. For everyday use, 'jeans' is the word everyone knows and uses. If you say 'I put on my denims,' many younger speakers will find it odd; 'dungarees' means something quite different.

jeans ↗denimsdungarees

Common collocations

Phrases

  • a pair of

Prepositions

  • in jeans
  • wearing jeans

Etymology

ItalianFrenchEnglish

The word 'jeans' comes from the city of Genoa in Italy. In the 1500s, sailors from Genoa wore strong cotton trousers made from a fabric the French called 'gênes' (the French name for Genoa). English speakers began calling the trousers 'jeans' after the French word. The modern blue denim style became popular in America during the 1800s as work clothing for miners and cowboys.