plainclothes

adjective plain·clothes \ ˈplān-ˈklō(t͟h)z \

Updated on: 19 Apr 2018

Definition of plainclothes

: dressed in civilian clothes while on duty —used especially of a police officer

See plainclothes defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of plainclothes from the Web

New York City plainclothes police officers took down a student protester.

— thomas vinciguerra, WSJ, "Columbia Set to Commemorate Rebellion of 1968," 15 Apr. 2018
None of the 28 callers to 911 indicated that anyone had a gun or fired shots other than two white men in plainclothes dress (who matched descriptions of Treacy and Derouin).

— maya dukmasova, Chicago Reader, "16 months after cops killed Joshua Beal, still no ruling on whether the shooting was justified," 26 Mar. 2018
However, when Miguna arrived on Monday at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, plainclothes officers tried to hustle him onto an outbound plane, witnesses said.

— tom odula, Fox News, "Kenyan opposition figure deported to Dubai, lawyers say," 29 Mar. 2018
As plainclothes officers and unmarked vehicles descended on the area and authorities worked to get SWAT, tactical and ballistic teams in place, Conditt pulled out of the lot.

— nicole chavez, CNN, "The Austin bomber called himself a 'psychopath' in his confession video," 25 Mar. 2018
When his police powers were somehow reinstated in 2012, he was bumped up to the plainclothes gun unit.

— david mcfadden, The Seattle Times, "In Baltimore, public trust erodes amid police scandal," 17 Feb. 2018
The story that Christopher Thomas, a plainclothes police officer, told a grand jury in December 2014 sounded plausible enough.

— joseph goldstein, New York Times, "‘Testilying’ by Police: A Stubborn Problem," 18 Mar. 2018
As a New York City plainclothes officer, Serpico was labeled a traitor for refusing payoffs and reporting corruption.

— crimesider staff, CBS News, "Independent review board to tackle case of murdered Baltimore detective," 5 Mar. 2018
In the pilot, 100 cameras were placed on patrol officers in five police districts, and plainclothes officers in the Youth Violence Strike Force, which tends to gang matters.

— milton j. valencia, BostonGlobe.com, "Here’s what the early findings of Boston’s police body camera program show," 10 Jan. 2018

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