parachute pants

plural noun

|Updated on: 6 May 2018

Definition of parachute pants

: baggy casual pants of lightweight fabric often with an elastic or drawstring at the waist and the cuffs

Recent Examples of parachute pants from the Web

Breakdancing might seem like a product of the ’80s, like jelly bracelets or parachute pants.

— victor mather, New York Times, "The Olympics Would Be Better With a Breakdancing Competition. Discuss.," 23 Apr. 2018
Athleticwear Crop tops, preferably with a logo like Levi’s, topped denim shorts as well as parachute pants, like the ones worn by Rihanna to her Fenty x Puma bash.

— booth moore, The Hollywood Reporter, "Top 10 Coachella Fashion Trends: Boob Glitter, Fanny Packs, Pierced Braids and More," 16 Apr. 2018
The actress would go on to land her breakout roles in Superbad and Easy A. Ryan Gosling Bring on the parachute pants!

— grace gavilanes, PEOPLE.com, "9 Throwbacks That Would Totally Embarrass These Celebs If They Found Out We Unearthed Them," 25 Jan. 2018
That the young girls' frolic in the woods—which leads to all the trouble—is evoked with a generic contemporary interpretive dance and Reverend Parris is inexplicably clad in parachute pants undercuts the solemnity of the proceedings as well.

— Chicago Reader, "Choir Boy, Foxfinder, and 12 more stage shows to see now," 12 Oct. 2017
Whoever says there is no such thing as (or no need for) an athletic heel, a gym-worthy jumpsuit, or an ultra-low pair of parachute pants, should reconsider.

— carrie goldberg, Harper's BAZAAR, "Can You Wear New York Fashion Week In Real Life?," 2 Oct. 2017
However, the nod goes to the Rams, who are playing their first regular-season game back along the Pacific coast since parachute pants were in style.

— jim derry, NOLA.com, "NFL Picks Week 1: Saints defy logic, win opener at Minnesota," 4 Sep. 2017

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