apparel

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noun ap·par·el \ə-ˈper-əl, -ˈpa-rəl\

Definition of apparel

1 : personal attire : clothing of a particular kind dressed in fine apparel —used chiefly in U.S. English to refer to clothing that is being sold in stores a new line of women's apparel athletic apparel
2 : the equipment (such as sails and rigging) of a ship
3 : something that clothes or adorns the bright apparel of spring

See apparel defined for English-language learners

Examples of apparel in a Sentence

a designer who regularly apparels several of the presenters at the Oscar ceremonies

Recent Examples of apparel from the Web

The only apparel company to earn the association’s grade so far is Ms. Scott’s AD RescueWear, whose wet-wrap therapy garments relieve itching by sealing in moisture.

— elizabeth olson, New York Times, "Search for Eczema Relief Leads to Business Opportunities," 19 July 2017
Nonetheless, designer brands still hold back (Walmart sells the most plus-size apparel).

— The Economist, "The forgotten majorityThe fashion industry pays attention to plus-size women," 13 July 2017
Africa’s fashion scene has grown steadily over the past two decades, with sub-Saharan Africa’s apparel and footwear market now worth $31 billion, according to data by Euromonitor.

— finbarr o'reilly, The Seattle Times, "Drones, DJs and Kardashian advisers at Dakar Fashion Week," 7 July 2017
The deal includes Frontgate, Grandin Road, Ballard Designs, Garnet Hill, Grandin Road and Improvements – a grouping of home and apparel online retailers based in West Chester as part of HSN's Cornerstone group.

— Cincinnati.com, "QVC buys parent of West Chester-based Frontgate," 6 July 2017
July the Fourth in the USA comes with quite a few traditions—fireworks, various red/white/blue apparel, and of course, beer.

— darren orf, Popular Mechanics, "6 Patriotic Beers For Celebrating Independence Day," 3 July 2017
From secret sauces and pocket-sized hair gel, to photographic mouse pads and bowls designed to keep cereal crisp, this year’s crop of products represent a range of categories such as food and beverages, home décor and apparel.

— nancy dahlberg, miamiherald, "41 Florida product makers will present to Wal-Mart next week," 22 June 2017
The e-commerce behemoth made moves in both grocery and apparel sales in five days, sparking uneasiness among companies in both sectors.

— cat zakrzewski, WSJ, "Amazon’s Next Battleground Is the Fitting Room," 21 June 2017
The service, which would compete with offerings from retailers such as Macy's and Nordstrom, as well as subscription-type services, sent apparel stocks tumbling Tuesday.

— abha bhattarai, chicagotribune.com, "Amazon's bid for Whole Foods sparks speculation on what it might gobble up next," 21 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apparel.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of apparel

see ²apparel

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

Other Clothing Terms

babushka, brogue, bumbershoot, cravat, dishabille, furbelow, layette, raiment, spectator

apparel

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verb ap·par·el \ə-ˈper-əl, -ˈpa-rəl\

Definition of apparel

appareled

apparelled

;

appareling

apparelling

transitive verb
1 : to put clothes on : dress was formally appareled [=was wearing formal clothes]
2 : adorn, embellish accused of appareling the truth