- ordinary clothes, as distinguished from uniform, as worn by a police detective on duty
- (as modifier): a plain-clothes police officer
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
plain•clothes /ˈpleɪnˈkloʊz, -ˈkloʊðz-/USA pronunciation also ˈplain-ˈclothes,
adj.
plain•clothes•wo•man, n. [countable], pl. -wom•en.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- (of a police officer, esp. a detective) wearing ordinary clothes while on duty:a plainclothes detective.
plain•clothes•wo•man, n. [countable], pl. -wom•en.
plain′ clothes′,
plain′-clothes′, adj.
- clothing other than one's uniform, esp. civilian clothes worn on duty by a police officer.
- 1815–25
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
plain clothes pl n
'plainclothes' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):