Definition of plainclothes
: dressed in civilian clothes while on duty
—used especially of a police officer
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Recent Examples of plainclothes from the Web
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Barber, who was 16 at the time, bought a shirt and was walking out with two other teens, one of whom had joined them at the store, when a large plainclothes security officer accosted them.
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On the one side, Sergeant Galik, the sergeant in charge of the park’s mounted unit, backed up by plainclothes officers and several carloads of Tactical Squad officers, also known as riot police.
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When relatives went to look for him at the food stall, they were told he'd been picked up by plainclothes officers.
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Other videos showed plainclothes policemen scuffling with protesters while trying to arrest them.
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Other videos showed plainclothes policemen scuffling with protesters while trying to arrest them.
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Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto said plainclothes officers involved in a narcotics investigation had spotted the man at a Shell gas station on Jefferson Highway and attempted to arrest him.
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At one point, plainclothes officers approached the vehicle and could smell cannabis, and a search of the vehicle turned up the tanks of nitrous oxide under a blanket in the rear of the vehicle, according to the release.
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Last year, just days before the inaugural show, a Chicago plainclothes officer was shot in his vest in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, the Chicago Tribune reported.
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.
First Known Use of plainclothes
1856
PLAINCLOTHES Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of plainclothes for English Language Learners
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: dressed in ordinary clothes and not a uniform while on duty
Law Dictionary
legal Definition of plainclothes
: dressed in civilian clothes while on duty
—used especially of a police officer
Learn More about plainclothes
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See words that rhyme with plainclothes Spanish Central: Translation of plainclothes
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