plainclothes

1 of 2

adjective

plain·​clothes ˈplān-ˈklō(t͟h)z How to pronounce plainclothes (audio)
: dressed in civilian clothes while on duty
used especially of a police officer

plain clothes

2 of 2

noun

: civilian clothes : the dress of an ordinary citizen
… he had brought in a stenographer, more cops, and an older man in plain clothes.E. L. Doctorow
used especially in describing the clothes of a police officer
a detective in plain clothes

Examples of plainclothes in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
In the early morning hours of February 4, 1999, Amadou was standing outside his building when four white plainclothes officers drove by. CBS News, 9 June 2020 The agents are part of the Ohio Investigative Unit, which is made up of plainclothes peace officers responsible for enforcing Ohio’s alcohol, tobacco and food stamp fraud laws. Sean McDonnell/akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati.com, 22 May 2020 Taylor, 26, was at home with her boyfriend on March 13 when three plainclothes officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department arrived to execute a search warrant in a drug case. NBC News, 13 May 2020 Video taken in the East Village on Saturday shows a plainclothes officer tackling one man on the sidewalk as a crowd of bystanders looks on. Brianna Provenzano, refinery29.com, 4 May 2020 Kneeling on the top of Wright's back or neck to keep him down, the plainclothes officer started jawing and cursing at bystanders. Michael R. Sisak, USA TODAY, 4 May 2020 His plainclothes security agents loiter and listen in cafes and hotel lobbies. David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2020 As Áñez and her entourage arrived, a soldier and a plainclothes bodyguard took up protective positions: one behind her, the other by a window overlooking the plaza. Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2020 Detective Vaughan Ettienne, a bodybuilder and veteran member of plainclothes anti-crime teams in Brooklyn, is also on the list. Joseph Goldstein, New York Times, 7 Nov. 2019
Noun
His mother, also shot, wailed as a plain clothes police officer tried desperately to resuscitate her son. Salvador Rizzo, Washington Post, 9 Feb. 2024 On Friday, the day after the shooting, marked Miami-Dade County police cars were replaced by white pickup trucks and vans, with federal agents in plain clothes walking up and down the street, the witness told the Herald. Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 5 Feb. 2024 The second image shows Gaga’s Harley Quinn wearing plain clothes, looking at Phoenix’s character in his iconic Joker makeup. Carly Thomas, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 Security camera footage from the incident showed three men in black masks rushing into the store when a fourth man, dressed in plain clothes without a mask, held open the store’s locked door. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2023 Video circulating on social media show the extensive presence of security guards and plain clothes police forces especially in central Tehran and Saqez, the hometown of Amini. Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2023 Along with the use of drones, Oak Brook police utilized plain clothes officers for the first time, who blended in with the crowd; seven K-9s and bike officers. Chuck Fieldman, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2023 Local and international news agencies were covering the event live as officials in uniform and plain clothes entered and searched different sections of the former prime minister’s residence for allegedly sheltering some people involved in the May 9 violence. Bloomberg.com, 19 May 2023 They were dressed in plain clothes and did not identify themselves as police even after the door was broken down. Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 25 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plainclothes.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1856, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1822, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of plainclothes was in 1822

Dictionary Entries Near plainclothes

plain clothes

plainclothes

plainclothesman

Cite this Entry

“Plainclothes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plainclothes. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

plainclothes

adjective
: dressed in civilian clothes while on duty
used especially of a police officer
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!